this is bbc news with the latest headlines. energy firms are preparing for the government to change course and maintain similar levels of support for households with their energy bills, and not reduce help from the end of the month as planned. constance marten and mark gordon are due to appear in court after a baby's remains were found following a huge search operation around brighton. labour defends the decision to offer a job to the former civil servant sue gray who oversaw the investigation into lockdown parties in downing street. more revelations from matt hancock's lockdown messages — government officials discussed the need for the police to get tougher with the public over covid rules. and it's the end of an era

as veteran broadcaster ken bruce prepares for his last show on radio 2. it's entirely within the bbc�*s right to ask me to step away a little early and gardening leave is a known concept in broadcasting and in many other areas. good morning. the bbc understands that some energy firms are expecting the government to keep support at, or near, current levels and they are amending their bills with that expectation in mind. the typical energy bill for a household in the uk is set to rise to £3,000 a year from april, but there are calls for the government to keep its current level of support. that support currently means the government is limiting

the typical bill to £2,500 a year, plus a £400 winter discount. that support is due to end in april and fuel poverty campaigners say that means the number of households struggling to afford bills could rise from 6.7 million to 8.4 million. a treasury source said it wouldn't comment on speculation, but the chancellorjeremy hunt told the bbc a couple of weeks ago that help on energy bills was under review. i'm joined by our business correspondent theo leggett. why was the government prepared to see bills go up anyway? in why was the government prepared to see bills go up anyway?— see bills go up anyway? in the autumn when _ see bills go up anyway? in the autumn when it _ see bills go up anyway? in the autumn when it took - see bills go up anyway? in the autumn when it took the - see bills go up anyway? in the - autumn when it took the decision, there was a feeling it did not have a lot of choice. what the government is doing is subsidising energy bills, so the wholesale price of energy is very high, that would be unaffordable for many households, so there is a difference between what 0fgem says retailers can charge and what consumers are paying, and that difference is made up by the

government. in the autumn, wholesale energy prices, the international price of gas and electricity, was very high. nobody knew how long the prices would stay high for. the government was facing a very steep bill for this, government was facing a very steep bill forthis, it government was facing a very steep bill for this, it still is, but less thanit bill for this, it still is, but less than it would have done, because what has happened as gas prices which at the height of the summer for example were 800 and 40p have fallen to 100 p. when retailers are buying gas and generating electricity from the gas, it has gone down. the cost of the whole scheme to the government has also gone down. it is still going to be around £30 billion across the length of the programme. but it is a lot less than it would have been. now campaigners are saying the cost of the government has come down, therefore does it really need to implement the increase in the energy price cap from £2500 for a typical

household, up to £3000? a growing body says the government has more leeway so it can keep the subsidy in place for longer. leeway so it can keep the subsidy in place for longer-— place for longer. what would the im act on place for longer. what would the impact on the — place for longer. what would the impact on the economy - place for longer. what would the impact on the economy be - place for longer. what would the impact on the economy be if- place for longer. what would the impact on the economy be if the| impact on the economy be if the support continues at its current level? it support continues at its current level? , ., , ., , support continues at its current level? , ., , . , ., level? it will stop a number of households — level? it will stop a number of households falling _ level? it will stop a number of households falling into - level? it will stop a number of households falling into energyi households falling into energy poverty, struggling with bills, that is the primary concern. there may be impacts on inflation as well because people would not be seeing such big increases in bills. what we were expecting in april was notjust the energy price guarantee which is the cap the government puts on energy bills by going up by £500, we have also in the winter had an energy price discount of £1100, so the reality would be that without any change now, bills would be going up by effectively £900 a year as of april, and that is what opposition politicians and poverty campaigners are saying could be reversed. molar

are saying could be reversed. now there is this _ are saying could be reversed. now there is this expectation the government will stick to its current support, what might the impact be if they do stick to their earlier plan of scaling the support back? the expectation is already set now. again, if bills were to go up sharply in april, it would increase the number of people struggling to pay the bills by about 1.5 million households. that is very significant. there would be outcry. as i say, back in the autumn when the decision was taken, government did not know how much the scheme was going to cost. now we have been through the winter, it has been a surprisingly warm winter meaning demand notjust in the uk but across europe for gas in particular has fallen, reserves are higher, so the price has down. 0ut fallen, reserves are higher, so the price has down. out of the winter, the summer months are ahead, consumption wilful and reserves can be topped up. we are not expecting

to see big increases in the price of gas in particular until potentially next winter —— consumption will full. there is extra leeway the government could potentially use. this is all theoretical in a way. the treasury has said it will not comment on speculation, but there —— is there an expectation, a deadline as to when the decision has to be made? �* �* ., , , ., , made? the bbc has been told energy com anies made? the bbc has been told energy companies are _ made? the bbc has been told energy companies are already _ made? the bbc has been told energy companies are already preparing - made? the bbc has been told energy companies are already preparing for i companies are already preparing for that decision to be taken and of course we have a budget coming up, so that would be the logical time to make an announcement such as this. thank you for giving us an overview, our correspondent feel leggett there. a couple charged with gross negligence manslaughter after the remains of a baby were found in woodland in sussex are appearing before magistrates. constance marten and mark gordon were also charged with concealing the birth of a child and perverting

the course ofjustice. the couple sparked a nationwide search after going missing seven weeks ago with their newborn. they were found in brighton on monday night and the baby's body was discovered on wednesday. the families of those who died in the manchester arena bombing have described their pain and anger at the failure of m15 to stop the attack. a public inquiry found the intelligence and security agency missed a significant chance to take action that might have stopped the 2017 bombing. danny savage reports. nearly six years on from the atrocity at the manchester arena, a thorough report has concluded the security services missed a significant chance to take action that may have prevented it. i have found a significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack. there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained, which might have led to action preventing the attack.

the reason for this missed opportunity included a failure by the security service, in my view, to act swiftly enough. in response to the criticism, the director general of m15 made a statement but refused to take questions from the media. i deeply regret that such intelligence was not obtained. gathering covert intelligence is difficult. but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma. i am profoundly sorry that mi5 did not prevent the attack. the inquiry established that two pieces of classified information about the bomber were not acted upon by m15. that was a missed opportunity. it could have led to

salman abedi being followed to the parked nissan micra where he stored his explosives. it could also have seen him stopped at manchester airport on his return from libya, four days before the attack. abedi set off his suicide bomb in the foyer at the end of an ariana grande concert. teenagers were leaving, parents were waiting for their children. the revelations have left the families of the victims angry. they wanted yesterday to answer so many questions. there were failings by m15 and it should have been stopped. so, yeah, i am furious that i have lost my son because somebody did not do theirjob properly. policies have changed as a result of the manchester arena inquiry. it has been uncomfortable listening for most of the authorities involved. but that is nothing compared to a lifetime of sadness and loss for the innocent families caught up

in the bombing. danny savage, bbc news. a former extremist radicalised in the wake of the manchester arena bombing says the possibility of another large—scale terrorist attack in the north west of england is still very real. latest figures show a 27% jump in referrals in the region to the government's anti—terrorism prevent scheme. john — who now works for a charity helping people leave the far right — says the internet means it's easy for young people to be radicalised. it is unbelievably easy to access stuff online. roughly 70% of people we engage with our recruited online. i don't think we are done with the wave. in terms of the possibility of a big scale terrorist attack in a different starting, the possibility is still very real —— different

setting. and you can see more on this story from our colleagues abbiejones and lauren hirst on the bbc news website and app. let's move now to wesminster, where conservative mps have expressed anger after sue gray, the senior civil servant who wrote the partygate report, was been offered a job as the chief of staff for labour leader sir keir starmer. let's get more from our political correspondentjonathan blake. explain in terms of civil servants moving into political roles like this, it is not hugely unusual, is it? ., ., ., , , it? not unheard-of but this particular— it? not unheard-of but this particular appointment - it? not unheard-of but this particular appointment is l it? not unheard-of but this - particular appointment is getting a lot of attention at westminster because as you say sue gray of course compiled the now famous report into what became known as the party —— partygate saga, parties that took place in lockdown, they should not have taken place and officials should have taken responsibility at the time. boris johnson said he had been humbled by the experience and learned lessons.

now the new sir keir starmer has approached sue gray to become his chief of staff, it is leading some to call into question the findings of the report and indeed sue gray's integrity. ministers who served under mrjohnson in his administration, jacob rees—mogg for example, saying the report now looks like a stitch up and an ally of borisjohnson himself like a stitch up and an ally of boris johnson himself saying the validity of her findings have been destroyed. there are rules that need to be followed, sue gray has resigned from her post as a senior civil servant at the levelling up department. she will have to wait at least three months before taking up the role with labour in sir keir starmer�*s team. it may have to be longer because the advisory council on business appointments, the watchdog, is looking into this, as it does with other senior civil servant or ministerial moves on to otherjobs, otherwork servant or ministerial moves on to otherjobs, other work outside of government. they could recommend a

longer period before she takes up the role. labour has said both day and sue gray have agreed to abide by any of the recommendations but they are just that, there any of the recommendations but they arejust that, there isn't any of the recommendations but they are just that, there isn't really anything the committee or anyone can do to necessarily stop her taking up the role. in do to necessarily stop her taking up the role. , ., ., ., , the role. in terms of her role, as ou the role. in terms of her role, as you say. — the role. in terms of her role, as you say. a _ the role. in terms of her role, as you say. a few — the role. in terms of her role, as you say, a few months _ the role. in terms of her role, as you say, a few months now- you say, a few months now potentially of it being scrutinised and looked at, but what is the likelihood of it being blocked? and what would the impact of that be? it cannot really be blocked because the committee i was talking about who will advise the prime minister, the ultimate arbiter of the rules, do not have any powers to stop her taking a job not have any powers to stop her taking ajob and not have any powers to stop her taking a job and indeed she has resigned from civil service post. so she is effectively free to take up any other job she is effectively free to take up any otherjob now, albeit with an official recommendation or advisory from the civil service behind her.

as i say, labour and sue gray, as far as we know, although we have not heard by her —— from her directly, seem to be willing to abide by the regulations. 0thers support her, saying it is a move she is making to help prepare sir keir starmer and labourfor help prepare sir keir starmer and labour for government, which they hope to be in a position to take up after the next general election. sir keir starmer�*s team seem relatively relaxed about the outrage expressed ljy relaxed about the outrage expressed by some conservatives here saying they will do things by the book and follow due process and disappointment is simply about getting the best person for the job and somebody who knows the machinery of government and workings of whitehall inside out to prepare them. but it is controversial as far as a lot of conservatives are concerned and how soon it is before she takes up the role, we will have to see. . ~

she takes up the role, we will have to see. ., ~' ,, she takes up the role, we will have to see. ., ~ i. ., ., ., to see. thank you for that, our olitical to see. thank you for that, our political correspondent, - to see. thank you for that, our i political correspondent, jonathan blake. with me now is alex thomas, programme managerfrom the institute for government think tank and former civil servant. thank you forjoining us. an appointment that cannot be blocked, yes, there may be controversy, but what does it matter, given it will go ahead? i what does it matter, given it will no ahead? ., ~' what does it matter, given it will no ahead? ., ~ ., , go ahead? i do think it matters. the future of the — go ahead? i do think it matters. the future of the civil— go ahead? i do think it matters. the future of the civil service _ go ahead? i do think it matters. the future of the civil service in - go ahead? i do think it matters. the future of the civil service in part. - future of the civil service in part. surprising appointment. not unprecedented. jonathan powell went to work for tony blair and others have done the same. but the prominence of sue gray and her role in a whole series of controversial episodes does make this surprising and of significance. i think one of the tests for the civil service now is how it demonstrates its impartiality. these situations are difficult because it is very hard to regulate, what does sue gray know? what might she share with keir starmer? the other aspect of this is

for the labour party and sue gray to be very clear how they will manage any conflicts of interest that come up. one other point, i really don't buy the suggestion that sue gray's previous work on partygate is somehow compromised. civil servants are allowed to have personal views but they put them to one side when they do thejob. but they put them to one side when they do the job. i don't think the criticism of the partygate report was that it diverted blame from borisjohnson and he recognised the report at the time and welcomed it. so i do not think the criticism stands up at all.— so i do not think the criticism stands up at all. regardless of that, if this — stands up at all. regardless of that, if this does _ stands up at all. regardless of that, if this does create - stands up at all. regardless of that, if this does create an - that, if this does create an impression of potentially undermining the independence of those findings, isn't that the point? it is about the perception among the public, even if you leave aside the criticism from the conservative party, what about the perception among the public? perception is really important, but

i don't think... i think the public perception of partygate is well set, there were parties, they did happen, sue gray's report reflected that. the perception is more about the civil service and how relationships between civil servants and ministers can continue after something so high profile like this. certainly there are concerns among the civil service that it might mean it is not for permanent secretaries or other senior civil servants to develop a relationship of trust with ministers. 0ne relationship of trust with ministers. one of the things moving on from this is to show that civil servants can work really closely with ministers in an environment of complete trust. it is totally reasonable for ministers to have those sorts of private conversations with civil servants without thinking it will be passed on to political opponents or anyone else. [to it will be passed on to political opponents or anyone else. do you think there — opponents or anyone else. do you think there needs _ opponents or anyone else. do you think there needs to _ opponents or anyone else. do you think there needs to be _ opponents or anyone else. do you think there needs to be any - opponents or anyone else. do you | think there needs to be any change made to the system to ensure that?

sorry... made to the system to ensure that? sor �* ., , made to the system to ensure that? sor ., , , sorry... don't worry, iwas 'ust auoin sorry... don't worry, iwas 'ust going to — sorry... don't worry, iwas 'ust going to say. i sorry... don't worry, iwas 'ust going to say. do i sorry... don't worry, iwas 'ust going to say, do you i sorry... don't worry, iwas 'ust going to say, do you think h sorry... don't worry, i wasjust| going to say, do you think there needs to be any change to the system, something put in place to make sure there isn't any future question over the relationship between civil servants and ministers and trust between them? i between civil servants and ministers and trust between them?— and trust between them? i don't think there _ and trust between them? i don't think there is _ and trust between them? i don't think there is a _ and trust between them? i don't think there is a change - and trust between them? i don't think there is a change to - and trust between them? i don't think there is a change to the . think there is a change to the system about the relationship between ministers and civil servants, although i think there are all sorts of ways to improve the civil service, all sorts of ways to improve the civilservice, but let's all sorts of ways to improve the civil service, but let's not go there this morning. i think it is important keir starmer and sue gray follow the process we have heard about, the rules that govern moves like this. they have said they will and one of the criticisms of the advisory committee it is pretty toothless, relying on a name and shame... , �* toothless, relying on a name and shame... ,�* , , , shame... doesn't it suggest it needs to change? —

shame... doesn't it suggest it needs to change? what _ shame... doesn't it suggest it needs to change? what is _ shame... doesn't it suggest it needs to change? what is the _ shame... doesn't it suggest it needs to change? what is the point - shame. .. doesn't it suggest it needs to change? what is the point of- to change? what is the point of having a system if it is toothless? i think that needs to change, putting the advisory committee on a statutory basis, making sure civil servants and ministers when they start theirjobs are bound into some of these rules, that is important. however, in this instance, because keir starmer has absolutely said he will prioritise honesty and integrity in government, because sue gray was the head of the propriety and ethics team, it would be very difficult for them to ignore the recommendations. in this instance i think the committee which is normally pretty toothless has slightly sharper fangs.- normally pretty toothless has slightly sharper fangs. thank you for our slightly sharper fangs. thank you for your time _ slightly sharper fangs. thank you for your time this _ slightly sharper fangs. thank you for your time this morning. - thousands of whatsapp messages sent and received by the former health secretary during the pandemic have been leaked this week. in the latest exchange released

by the daily telegraph, matt hancock and a senior cabinet official are seen tojoke about travellers arriving in the uk being locked up in shoe box quarantine hotels. 0ur political correspondent damian grammaticas, has more. february 2021, hotel quarantine. this is where you had to stay by law — an airport hotel, for ten days — if you arrived from a high—risk country. the cost — you paid around £2,000 per adult. the very day the policy came in, it's the tone of the text messages that's most striking. the country's most senior civil servant to matt hancock, then health secretary. "i just want to see some of the faces of people coming out of first—class and into a premier inn shoebox," says simon case. ten days later, they appear to be laughing. mr case asks, "any idea how many people we locked up in hotels yesterday?" matt hancock says, "none, but 149 chose to enter the country and are now in quarantine hotels due to their own free will." simon case replies, "hilarious."

the telegraph newspaper was given the messages by isabel 0akeshott. she says publishing them is in the national interest, claiming the lockdowns and quarantines were catastrophic. she was handed the messages by matt hancock when she helped him write a book about his experience of the pandemic. mr hancock says the messages are being published piecemeal as part of a biased campaign to discredit government policies. and last night, a former colleague came to his defence. there's three st james bibles' worth of messages from one man who was working 18 hours a day, seven days a week. he will have made mistakes, as well as other things. what i think you would get if you were fair and you weren't selectively splashing in a newspaper, you would get the impression of people who were working absolutely flat—out and determinedly to save lives. ms 0akeshott has said the telegraph has more revelations to come. mr hancock has said the right place to investigate how the pandemic

was handled is the upcoming inquiry. damian grammaticus, bbc news. demand for new pets rose sharply during covid lockdown and a new bbc investigation has found that hundreds of dogs are being smuggled out of illegal puppy farms in eastern europe into the uk, which is one of the biggest markets for puppies. the bbc�*s our world infiltrated groups who were buying and selling dogs online, as anna adams reports. these dogs have been rescued from illegal puppy mills in hungary by animal charities. a bbc our world investigation found smugglers breaking the law and abusing the pet passport scheme to traffic pregnant dogs and puppies into the uk. they make their way to britain via germany, where police have seized more than 3,000 dogs since 2021. this hungarian smuggler kept these four heavily pregnant dachsunds in squalid conditions as he tried to transport them into the uk, claiming they were his pets.

under the european pets travel scheme, you are allowed to transport dogs if they are your pets, but the evidence showed it was more likely that they had come from a puppy mill in hungary. translation: the boxes were far too i small, very dirty and full of urine. i the four dogs were rescued and brought to an animal shelter in germany where they gave birth to 21 puppies, worth more than £42,000. translation: they were not used to any contact with people. - they didn't know any sounds and the outside was also alien to them. the first time we put them on the meadow, they were completely overwhelmed. they didn't know what to do. the smuggler was released without charge in germany. a few days later, he was caught by british border authorities as he tried to smuggle more dogs into the uk, but he was released, again without charge. we tried to contact him, but he did not respond. the bbc infiltrated a network of online groups buying

and selling pregnant dogs. in the uk, it is illegal to sell puppies that you have not bred yourself. back in hungary, we meet adina, who has rescued hundreds of dogs from puppy mills. she says breeders will go to extreme lengths to hide the dogs. translation: she is a rescue from a puppy mill where there| are nearly 150 dogs. the adults had their vocal cords cut so that they couldn't bark and draw attention from the neighbours. dogs barking as long as the uk's appetite for puppies continues, experts say smugglers will persist. they say the only way to stop them is to refuse to buy a dog unless you are sure of where it has come from. anna adams, bbc news. and you can watch our world — inside the illegal puppy trade this weekend here on bbc news.

let's go back to the news that a couple charged with gross negligence manslaughter after the remains of a baby were found in woodland in sussex are due before magistrates today. constance marten and mark gordon were also charged with concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course ofjustice. 0ur reporter yetunde yusuf joins me now from crawley. just tell us, what is the latest on this? ., , ., . ., just tell us, what is the latest on this? ., . ., ,, this? constance marten and mark gordon will— this? constance marten and mark gordon will be _ this? constance marten and mark gordon will be appearing - this? constance marten and mark gordon will be appearing here - this? constance marten and mark - gordon will be appearing here behind me as you see at crawley magistrates�* court this morning. they were charged yesterday with gross negligence manslaughter and also concealing the birth of a child and perverting the course of justice. they were arrested on monday and it is after the remains of a baby, the body of a baby, was found by police in woodland in brighton. police have still not established the sex of the child or

how the child died. we understand from the metropolitan police there will be a postmortem examination today. we are still waiting to find out more at crawley magistrates�* court. worth pointing out as well the metropolitan police has referred itself to the independent 0ffice the metropolitan police has referred itself to the independent office for police conduct because they said the baby died in what was a missing persons investigation that it was leading. persons investigation that it was leadini. . ., persons investigation that it was leadini. ., ,, thousands of whatsapp messages sent and received by the former health secretary during the pandemic have been leaked this week. in the latest exchange released by the daily telegraph, matt hancock and a senior cabinet official are seen tojoke about travellers arriving in the uk being locked up in shoe box quarantine hotels. joining me now is dr lobby akinnola, a campaignerfrom covid—19 bereaved families forjustice.

any time this is mentioned, any reference back to the days of lockdown and covid, it must be quite a raw and difficult experience for you. how do you feel on the revelation of these leaks? good mornini. revelation of these leaks? good morning. thank _ revelation of these leaks? good morning. thank you _ revelation of these leaks? good morning. thank you for - revelation of these leaks? good morning. thank you for having i revelation of these leaks? (limp. morning. thank you for having me. i think the feelings i am experiencing unfortunately are just frustration and tiredness and an anger because during the time... during the peak of the crisis, myself and other containers were calling for the government to listen to scientific advice, take the pandemic seriously, because our concern most people were losing their lives due to what i felt personally was maybe an overconfidence in dealing with the pandemic. it seems like these whatsapp messages are just vindicating all of the beliefs we had. , , , vindicating all of the beliefs we had. . , , ., ., vindicating all of the beliefs we had. , , , ., ., ., vindicating all of the beliefs we

had. , , ., ., ., , had. just tell us again, what is our had. just tell us again, what is your personal _ had. just tell us again, what is your personal experience - had. just tell us again, what is your personal experience of. had. just tell us again, what is| your personal experience of it? had. just tell us again, what is - your personal experience of it? what makes this so much more personalfor you? i makes this so much more personalfor ou? , ., ., ., a you? i lost my dad to covid in april 2020. he you? i lost my dad to covid in april 2020- he was _ you? i lost my dad to covid in april 2020. he was a _ you? i lost my dad to covid in april 2020. he was a key _ you? i lost my dad to covid in april 2020. he was a key worker, - you? i lost my dad to covid in april i 2020. he was a key worker, working throughout the first lockdown, and unfortunately he lost his life at home to covid. very personal. it hurts a lot. i cannot describe the pain of what feels like having the worst day of my life trivialised by the attitude that appears to be in these whatsapp messages. indie the attitude that appears to be in these whatsapp messages. we must say that matt hancock _ these whatsapp messages. we must say that matt hancock has _ these whatsapp messages. we must say that matt hancock has had _ these whatsapp messages. we must say that matt hancock has had some - these whatsapp messages. we must say that matt hancock has had some of- that matt hancock has had some of those were taken out of context and has said that the journalist who leaked them, isabel 0akeshott, had a 90 lockdown agenda. does that go anyway towards making you feel less strongly about what has happened —— anti lockdown agenda. it strongly about what has happened -- anti lockdown agenda.— anti lockdown agenda. it doesn't ersonall anti lockdown agenda. it doesn't personally because _ anti lockdown agenda. it doesn't personally because i _ anti lockdown agenda. it doesn't personally because i feel -

anti lockdown agenda. it doesn't personally because i feel like, i anti lockdown agenda. it doesn't i personally because i feel like, yes, these whatsapp messages, like you said, may have been taken out of context and i think we have to be careful of any rhetoric that appears to be against the lockdown is. i believe that whilst they were unpleasant and difficult, they saved lives. the things we should be judging the health secretary on his actions and the consequences of the messages we are seeing are providing some insight as to how he arrived at those conclusions and whether or not claims like they followed the scientific advice are true and i personally am unsure of what context will be provided that suggests when he told his scientific advisers, actually, we are not going to test everyone going into care homes, for example, i am everyone going into care homes, for example, iam not everyone going into care homes, for example, i am not sure what context can be added to that to make up for either mac or lessen the pain people are feeling as a result of the

effective quote on quote protective ring he put around care homes. is ring he put around care homes. is there anything matt hancock could say to bereaved families that would make a difference to you? i personally believe that when people tell you who they are, you should listen to them and trust them. matt hancock has had years now, time as health secretary and time afterwards, to show some contrition, show he was sorry for the disaster that was the leadership as health secretary and the lives that have been lost. instead he chose to write a book, go on television. i cannot speakfor everyone, but a book, go on television. i cannot speak for everyone, but for me personally, ifeel like speak for everyone, but for me personally, i feel like it speak for everyone, but for me personally, ifeel like it is speak for everyone, but for me personally, i feel like it is too little, too late. if he wants to start making amends, and start building some kind of trust again, i think he needs to be at the inquiry

as soon as requested and showing a real change in his attitude because up real change in his attitude because up until now it feels like everything has been a facade. thank ou so everything has been a facade. thank you so much — everything has been a facade. thank you so much for— everything has been a facade. thank you so much for your _ everything has been a facade. thank you so much for your time _ everything has been a facade. thank you so much for your time in - you so much for your time in speaking to us this morning. thank ou. now it�*s time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. it is much, why does it still feel like february? it is going to feel much more like january by next week, that is for sure. good morning. things are still a little on the chilly side but temperatures are around where they should be for the time of year, lots of cloud and a few spots of rain, chiefly across northern ireland, a few across the south of scotland and pushing southwards across england right now. most will be dry but as you can see from the chart, a lot of cloud in place. there will be a few breaks appearing here, parts of south—east scotland and eastern england may see a bit more sunshine and of course we started with plenty of sunshine in the southwest and west wales and the cloud will

gradually increase. temperatures in the sunshine, not feeling too bad where you have got it because the wind is light but of course, most of you will be under cloudy skies and temperatures, 7—9, feeling chilly but this is where we should be for the stage of the year. into this evening and overnight, lots of cloud in place. chances of a few more breaks, particularly across scotland and northern england and where you see that, a chance of frost into tomorrow morning but as we go through into the weekend, you will notice we finished the night with some showers in the north of scotland, eastern england which will slowly become a bit more dominant. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. energy firms are preparing for the government to change course and maintain similar levels of support for households with their energy bills, and not reduce help from the end of the month as planned. constance marten and mark gordon are due to appear in court, after a baby�*s remains were found following a huge search

operation around brighton. labour defends the decision to offer a job to the former civil servant sue gray, who oversaw the investigation into lockdown parties in downing street. more revelations from matt hancock�*s lockdown messages — government officials discussed the need for the police to get tougher with the public over covid rules. and it�*s the end of an era as veteran broadcaster ken bruce prepares for his last show on radio two. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s cassa. round—up, from the bbc good morning. round—up, from the bbc england�*s opening batterjason roy has given his side a huge boost ahead of the 50 over world cup later this year — returning to form with a century against bangladesh

in th second one day international taking place in dhaka. roy hit some trademark strokes along the way to scoring 132 before he was out and equalled the record for half centuries by an opener for his country, and he didn�*t stop there going past 100 before he was eventually out for 132. captainjos buttler also made 76 and moeen ali is getting valuable runs. england are 299—7 off 47 overs. the former wales footballer jason bowen has been speaking about his fight against motor neurone disease. he says his first thoughts after his diagnosis were for his wife and children. the 50—year—old, who played for cardiff city, swansea city and newport county during his career, first noticed something was wrong two years ago, but says that exercises he�*s been doing, and treatment he�*s getting, at the morrello clinic in newport, has been helping him cope. it does specialise in rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions. they�*re heartbroken.

a lot of tears. yeah, just a lot of tears, a lot of talking, yeah, just trying to stay positive, you know, and just trying to move on from it, really. british formula 1 driver george russell says he�*s looking forward to seeing what team mercedes can do in the championship this year. the first grand prix takes place this weekend in bahrain, and fans will get a chance to see the new cars in first practice later today. george russell finished fourth in the drivers�* championship and outscored his team mate, a certain seven—time world champion lewis hamilton. there�*ll be 23 races this season, the longest ever, and while the teams are expecting a difficult weekend, russell is confident they will improve as the marathon season progresses. last year was a really good year for development and understanding how a team like mercedes operates. they work on such a high level, the engineering talent they have got there is exceptional,

and ifeel fortunate being in a team such as this. so, you know, it�*s a new year, new challenges, new opportunities and i�*m looking forward to see what we can do this year. novak djokovic is through to the semifinals at the dubai tennis championships and has a tough task to continue his unbeaten run this year as he faces world number seven daniil medvedev. the world number one took his record to 15—0 in 2023 with victory over poland�*s hubert hurkacz and expects a tough match against medvedev who, like djokovic, is also going for his third title of the year. luckily for me, you know, already their second match and today, already, i am feeling as close to the best that i could possibly feel stop of course, you can always be better but i am playing on a high level and i am happy with the tennis.

and some of britain�*s best athletes are in action at the european indoor championships in istanbul. laura muir has already run this morning, winning her heat in the 1500 metres comfortably. the scot, who was a world bronze medallist last year, is the favourite for gold as she looks to add to her double—gold hauls from 2017 and 2019. it is just it isjust a it is just a matter of trying to conserve as much energy as possible. it was close at the finish but i would rather that than be ahead. you want to just qualify ideally. five gold medal and this championship, that would be pretty cool. i like even numbers but i will take 5/4—macro. it is very exciting to be on the cusp of potentially doing that —— five over four. i want to make the team proud. let�*s cross over to see what is going on. and you can watch the action on bbc two and the bbc sport website. that�*s all the sport for now.

former england cricket captain michael vaughn is due to give evidence on day three of an inquiry into allegations of racism within yorkshire county cricket club. mr vaughan has been accused of racism by the former bowler, azeem rafiq. vaughan categorically denies the allegations. 0ur reporter matt graveling joins us now from central london. what have we heard over the past couple —— what are we expecting to hear today? -- what are we expecting to hear toda ? ,., ., -- what are we expecting to hear toda ? , ., ., ., -- what are we expecting to hear toda ? ., . , ., -- what are we expecting to hear toda ? ., i , ., today? good morning. just a quick warnini today? good morning. just a quick warning that _ today? good morning. just a quick warning that some _ today? good morning. just a quick warning that some of— today? good morning. just a quick warning that some of the - today? good morning. just a quick warning that some of the viewers. today? good morning. just a quick - warning that some of the viewers may find some of the language are using this report a bit upsetting but we are on day three now of this hearing in the city of london and it has been a three—day hearing of the cricket disciplinary commission following what has been a terrible two and a half years for the sport of cricket amongst this racism scandal and today it really does kind of come to a head with the only man who has been charged and will appear here, because seven men have been charged with bringing the game into disrepute but actually, the only one who will appear is former

england captain michael vaughan, he is due to give evidence this morning, it was meant to be yesterday but the whole proceedings has been running a bit behind schedule. we expect him to be giving his evidence today. this all surrounds an incident which is alleged to have happened on the 22nd ofjune, 2009, when the former england captain is alleged to have said to a group of asian players, which included the former yorkshire spinner, azeem rafiq, "there�*s too many of you lot, we need to have a word about that". the england captain categorically denies this claim and yesterday, we heard from his legal representative, christopher stone 0�*casey, who said that when the claim was initially made, michael vaughan could not quite believe that it had been made against him. but there has been a lot of silence in the years that have followed so today is really going to be the england captain�*s first opportunity to have his say. and for people who are perhaps coming to the story for the first time, can you give us a brief overview of what we know so far?

sure, so this all began back in august 2020, where the former yorkshire spinner azeem rafiq alleged historic racism at headingley, the yorkshire ground, where he played his cricket. as part of that, a number of investigations followed and one investigation upheld seven azeem rafiq�*s 43 complaints. there were a number of high—profile resignations at the club. following on from that, the england and wales cricket board, the ecb, did their own investigations into proceedings and is part of that, they charged yorkshire county cricket club and also seven with bringing the game into disrepute. it is that which is being discussed here by the cricket disciplinary commission but as i mentioned in my last answer, of the seven individuals that were charged with bringing the game into disrepute, six of them have chosen to withdraw from the disciplinary proceedings, so actually, only michael vaughan

will be appearing. evidence around the idea men�*s charges will be heard in absence and after this concludes which we believe will probably be on tuesday, the panel, made up of three people, will retire to consider all the evidence they have heard and then determine whether they will place sanctions on any individuals found guilty and also on the club which has already pleaded guilty. thank you forjoining us. we will get an update from you a bit later. pictures and videos of raw sewage being pumped directly into the sea were widely shared on social media last year, and raised fresh questions about the quality of our rivers and waterways. the river severn is one of the worst polluted bodies of water in britain — with sewage being discharged into it more than 2,500 times in one year. 0ur environment correspondent jonah fisher has been finding out more. 5.6 degrees. 5.6 degrees? yeah, it�*s quite warm. cleaning up our waterways is going to take courage and conviction, and melissa and alison have

it in spades. you�*re there with your friends. but, again, it�*s quite solitary. oh, it�*s just lovely. it�*s the freedom. you�*re part of the nature. yeah, i love it. but, unfortunately, it�*s notjust nature in the river severn. it gets whiffy just up the river there. the uk�*s longest river is like many of our waterways — in trouble. farming runoff, industrial waste and sewage have all played their part in making swimming not for the faint—hearted. in the edges, you tend to get sanitary products and toilet paper, that kind of thing. wet wipes. and it's a different colour. the water? yeah, yeah. it's horrible. looks like slurry. it's not nice. butjust how polluted the severn is is hard to quantify. in recent years, there have been great efforts made to measure the amount of sewage that flows into our rivers. but that data has its limits.

here on the severn, we know that sewage mixed with rainwater flowed out of outflow pipes like that one over there for a combined total of nearly 29,000 hours in 2021. what we don�*t know is whether it was dribbling out or a raging torrent. and if you�*ve ever run a bath, you�*ll know that makes all the difference. testing the water is the obvious way to find out how clean the severn is, but the only way to get that done regularly is to do as alison and melissa are attempting — get it official status as a place to swim. so we�*re hoping to get a couple of stretches in the river severn designated as bathing water, so that the water will be tested to see how clean it is or otherwise. and then if there�*s any pollutants in it, the environment agency will investigate who�*s polluting the water and what with. 0n the other side of the severn, we meet up with campaigners who say they�*ve had enough.

so this is where the the sewer enters the river. claire, kate and jamie are refusing to pay the part of their bill that covers taking the waste water away. i'lljust pay half of it for the fresh water. that�*s the supply in your taps. supply in the taps, which, you know, we're grateful for, really. but if they're still pumping the- into the rivers, | then i'm not happy about that. i'm not going to pay for it. i really feel like the only thing that�*s left for me to protest is to try and withhold a bit of the money because that seems to be the only thing that they care about. you�*re not worried that you might get a criminal record? no, no, no, i'm not. i'm going to disinfect my shoes when i get home. when everything works, shrewsbury�*s sewage ends up here. this is a final settlement tank. the local water company points to environment agency data that shows farming playing the most significant role in polluting the river. so what, then, do they make

of the campaigners�* refusal to pay their bills? i completely understand that there is a lot of passion when it comes to talking about rivers. people are fed up. oh, yes. so people are really passionate about this, but so are we. well, fix it, then. oh, so.... and we are. so, for example, we are investing £100 million every year to reinforcing our sewer network. but the water companies were privatised decades ago. you�*ve had a lot of time to sort this out. why should we believe you now that you�*re going to actually fix this problem? so, over that time, a lot of investment has gone into water quality and so there have been improvements. but we do accept that people would like to see us do more — and so we are. that night, we joined a special meeting of shrewsbury council, called to discuss the state of the severn. alison pushed her campaign for bathing status. and bill—refuser claire delivered a call to action.

it isn�*tjust the water companies, it�*s also farmers, it�*s also members of the public. we�*re all going to have to work together. it�*s pointless just blaming each other. with discussion of the severn over for the night, alison and melissa waded back into it. the advantage of darkness is that you have no idea what it is you�*re swimming in. jonah fisher, bbc news, in shrewsbury. veteran radio 2 presenter ken bruce will host his final mid—morning show today after 31 years. the broadcaster, best known for his daily popmaster quiz, announced injanuary that he would be leaving radio 2 to go to the commercial station, greatest hits radio. he�*ll be replaced by presenter vernon kay. ken was supposed to present his last show at the end of march, but his leaving date was brought forward to today. it�*s entirely within the bbc�*s right to ask me to step away a little early.

gardening leave is a known concept in broadcasting and in many other areas. but for the sake of 17 days, which was all that was remaining — i would have finished on the 24th, anyway — it seems a shame. but, you know, you just adapt your timetable. instead of three weeks, it�*s one week and that�*s been fine. the line—up for this year�*s glastonbury festival has been announced. arctic monkeys and guns n roses will top the bill, joining previously—announced headliner sir eltonjohn, who will play the last uk show of his farewell tour at worthy farm injune. other acts on the line—up include lizzo, lana del rey, lil nas x, manic street preachers, wizkid and blondie. singer—songwriter cat stevens will play the coveted "legend slot", previously occupied by kylie and dolly parton. the massive event starts on the 21st june, and as always, if you haven�*t got a ticket, you�*ll be able to see it

all here on the bbc. the headlines on bbc news... energy firms are preparing for the government to change course and maintain similar levels of support for households with their energy bills, and not reduce help from the end of the month as planned. constance marten and mark gordon are due to appear in court after a baby�*s remains were found following a huge search operation around brighton. labour defends the decision to offer a job to the former civil servant sue gray, who oversaw the investigation into lockdown parties in downing street. a prominent lawyer in the us state of south carolina — who�*s the subject of netflix�*s latest true crime documentary — has been found guilty of killing his wife and son. prosecutors said alex murdaugh wanted to distract attention from the fact he stole millions of dollars from clients to fund an expensive drug habit. garry 0�*donoghue has this report.

a small town courthouse in south carolina, but a dramatic trial that has gripped the nation�*s imagination. minimum sentence for murder... after nearly six weeks of evidence but less than three hours of deliberation, the jury returned its verdict on both murder charges. docket number 2022 6515. verdict, guilty. signed by the foreperson of the jury. outside the court, the prosecutor said justice had been done. if you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, justice will be done in south carolina. the murdaugh family dominated the legal world in this picturesque part of south carolina. for decades, the family held key prosecutor roles in several counties. and their private law firm was seen almost as powerful as law enforcement itself. it was at this 1700—acre property that the bodies of maggie and paul murdaugh were found brutally murdered almost two years ago.

the culmination of a series of events that had seen three other separate suspicious deaths connected to the family. three months later, alex murdaugh, accused of killing his wife and son, was also to admit to a botched suicide attempt involving a $10 million insurance claim, charges for which are still pending. but during the murder trial, he was adamant he was innocent. did you take this gun or any gun like it and blow your son�*s brains out onjune 7, or any day, or any time? no, i did not. and he may be taken away. as he left the courtroom, murdaugh mouthed "i love you" to his son buster, who was in the public gallery. he will be sentenced later today and could get anything from 30 years to life without parole. but that isn�*t the end of it for alex murdaugh. he still faces dozens of other charges for financial crimes and investigations into other suspicious deaths connected to the family. gary 0�*donoghue, bbc news.

the island ofjersey spent five years under nazi occupation during the second world war and slave workers from nations across europe were forced to dig thousands of metres of tunnels below ground. today, the jersey war tunnels are preserved as a monument to those who worked there. electrician steen le gresley was part of a team carrying out winter maintenance on the tunnels, when he thought he spotted a familiar face. robert hall has the story. the gateway to so much ofjersey�*s wartime history. the war tunnels burrowed deep into the hillside by an army of forced workers. back—breaking months in the dark and the danger, underfed and ill—treated. so many would never return home. there was a huge amount of fortification work done on these islands. it was intended directly from hitler that they would be an impregnable fortress. and tunnels like this were built both in guernsey and injersey to either store ammunition,

store rations, food, as a way of being completely impregnable to allied bombing and invasion. one of the stories told here centres on antonio martinez, who spent four years working in the tunnels. and it caught the eye of an electrician carrying out winter maintenance. steen le gresley recognised his own great grandfather, and he invited his great uncle to make absolutely sure. yeah, that's my dad. hard as nails, he was. he was a good father, he looked after us. we never had to worry. we were brought up respectfully. he told me, you treat older women as you would, give them the respect you give your mother. you treat younger women as you would your sisters. you had to have a german soldier with you or an officer or a machine gun trooper would shoot you down.

and they'd done it to two moroccans, they came running out screaming, and they shot them down. he may have been haunted by memories of his time in the tunnels and the friends he lost, but when the occupation ended, antonio decided to make his home injersey. i think it�*s very interesting to note that some of the people who were sent here under such tragic circumstances sort of chose to remain here after the occupation and chose to settle here. and i think it�*s lovely that jersey was able to offer a little something back. heading for his own shift underground, steen�*s head is full of the knowledge he now shares. to think back to what conditions he would have worked in, and as much as it�*s cold now, it must have been a lot colder back then. we�*ve got heaters now, whereas back when they were putting it in, they wouldn�*t have had the heating and the dangers that they would have come across with the unfinished tunnels and making the tunnels in general.

there�*s a lot that i can think back on that he might have had to go through. it's a real link to the past to be placing hands on those places that his great grandfather placed his hands on over 80 years ago. so it must be special every time he comes in here. i can only say i�*ve got respect for the people that worked in here at the time and the level of effort they would have had to put in, and the forced effort that they would have had to put in. so it�*s definitely a unique experience working down here. over the decades, thousands of visitors have come here to learn more about the occupation years. this is another piece of another family puzzle. robert hall, bbc news, jersey. you might think your garden is a tranquil haven for wildlife to relax and enjoy — but the reality could be far from the truth, according to new research.

wild animals might be battling it out in "turf wars", as they fight for food that gets left out for them. victoria hicks has this report. a fox behaving aggressively towards a badger as it battles for scraps left out in a back garden. it�*s behaviour like this that�*s been analysed by researchers at nottingham trent university and brighton university to better understand how urban wildlife interacts. the research came about because we were working with the general public on wildlife, and they were asking us, if they put food in the gardens for badgers, foxes and hedgehogs, what effects are that food creating between those animals? so are those animals just eating it or is it attracting more animals together? and is there any potential conflicts or fighting between those animals by providing food? after an appeal on bbc springwatch, people filmed wildlife in their back gardens. that led researchers to analyse animal behaviour across almost 700 videos. what were the most surprising things

that you found from your research? so we had two things that i found really interesting. first of all was the interaction between foxes and cats. we thought foxes would see off cats and get access to the food, but actually it was the other way round. so in many cases, the cats actually got access to the food and chased the foxes off. so cats are definitely top dog in the garden. another thing we found really interesting is the interaction with hedgehogs. so hedgehogs against other hedgehogs, they�*re usually solitary, but what we found is when there was food present, they did try to fight each other. so hedgehogs are a little bit more feisty than we thought, and also with other animals. so we saw hedgehogs standing up against cats. they definitely saw cats off and also foxes. so how can we best support wildlife in our gardens and open spaces? what we found from the research is that when we put out food, we change the interactions between animals. so if we do feed and in many cases food is important for these species in urban areas,

but if we feed, we need to feed responsibly. so try not to have it all clumped massively in one place, but to scatter it across the garden and wherever possible, always use naturalfood items. looks like it�*s a hedgehog sniffing a fox. this research is part of a wider study into urban wildlife to learn more about how we can best support it in terms of its behaviour and its health. victoria hicks, bbc news. now it is time for a look at their weather with matt taylor. you mentioned it is getting colder next week. what can we expect? a step back into winter, that is special, let me go into what is happening next week first, that is what we�*re thinking about. high pressure starts to recede back towards greenland and in doing so, notice the wind direction, starting to come from the north. all of us will get the feel of arctic air coming down from the north and that will help to see temperatures

plummet. to give you a bit of a flavour, these are the fields like temperatures, for tuesday afternoon, sub zero for many, feeling like —4, -5 sub zero for many, feeling like —4, —5 in some parts of northern and eastern scotland, so a big drop in how some of you will feel. that is one thing for sure, we are very confident next week will feel much colder. we�*re also going to see some snow, the met office have started to issue some warnings and all the details will be on the bbc website. we are not quite as confident about how much snow and who will see it. we will keep you updated. and also, how long the cold weather will last. a few things to watch out for over the next few days. certainly, a step back to winter forjust the next few days. certainly, a step back to winter for just about everyone next week. back to the here and now, today, cloud is dominant, quite grey across much of the uk but it will be a bit of sunshine here and there. not going to be grey for everyone. some of the best of the sunny breaks in west wales and south—west england so far, clouding over a touch here. a few more sunny breaks in eastern scotland this afternoon and may be across eastern

parts of england but the cloud has been thick enough or rain or drizzle already, particularly across southern scotland and northern ireland and northern ireland will continue with damp weather. some spots of rain or drizzle possible through parts of england and east wales later. temperatures, 7—9, about where we should be for much but if any of you were out in the sunshine in the last for days, the son is gaining strength and with the light wind it will feel quite pleasant. tonight, cloud starting to dominate again across england and wales with some patchy rain or drizzle and may be a few more breaks in northern england and scotland. if you get those, the chance of frost into tomorrow morning. the chart for the weekend shows the start of a change, moving eastwards, this very weak cold front pushes southwards and then another one towards the north later on the weekend. saturday, a fair bit of cloud around and sunny breaks across south and west cotton, western parts of england and wales, some showers to the north and east of scotland and eastern parts of england at times and temperatures tomorrow again will only be about 7—9. as we go into sunday, more clout and a few more

showers around. this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. energy firms are preparing for the government to change course and maintain similar levels of support for households with their energy bills and not reduce help from the end of the month as planned. palestinian officials say israeli forces have shot dead a 15—year—old boy in the west bank. the israeli army say the boys were throwing fireworks at cars. labour defends the decision to offer a job to the former civil servant sue gray who oversaw the investigation into lockdown parties in downing street. a bbc invesitagtion finds hundreds of dogs are being smuggled into the uk from illegal puppy mills in eastern europe.

and the big reveal — glastonbury festival announces