this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm lucy grey and these are the latest headlines. the bbc�*s football programmes are in disarray as on—air staff from various shows pull out of saturday's broadcasts in support of presenter gary lineker who was told to �*step back�* after criticising the uk government's asylum bill. the corporation's director general insists the decision is to uphold impartiality rules but the opposition labour party accuses bosses of bowing to government pressure. as editor—in—chief of the bbc i think one of our founding principles is impartiality and that's what we're delivering on. thank and that's what we're delivering on. you very much the bbc is not acting impartially

by caving in to tory mps who are complaining about gary lineker. they have got this one badly wrong and now they are very, very exposed — as is the government. us regulators shut down silicon valley bank in the biggest banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis. the bbc has cancelled two of its football shows, football focus and final score, after a number of presenters and pundits refused to take part — as controversy continues over the corporation's decision to take gary lineker off match of the day. the presenter will not be hosting the programme tonight after criticising the government's language about migrants on social media. bbc radio 5 live has also been affected, with schedules disrupted. former bbc director general greg dyke said the corporation had made

a mistake and undermined its own credibility. last night the bbc said that gary lineker would be stepping back until there is an agreed and clear position on his use of social media. our media correspondent david sillito reports. when gary lineker left home this morning, it wasn't his normal saturday schedule. the decision by the bbc to drop him from match of the day for tweets — one of which described a statement by the home secretary as "beyond awful," has had repercussions. we've got big games... match of the day will tonight go ahead without presenters, pundits, many of its best known commentators and post—match interviews. and the disruption has spread to other programs. alex scott said she wouldn't be presenting football focus. the bbc�*s replaced it with bargain hunt. continuity announcer: in a change

to the schedule, it's bargain hunt. - and a former director general of the bbc, greg dyke, who himself left the job after a run—in with government at the time, feels the corporation has handled this badly. there is a long established precedent in the bbc, that is if you're an entertainment presenter or you're a football presenter, then you are not bound by those same rules. and i think what the bbc has done is actually the real problem of today is that the bbc has undermined its own credibility by doing this. because it looks like, it looks like the perception out there is that the bbc has bowed to government pressure. the bbc�*s view is that it has rules. presenters with a particularly high profile have, it says, an extra responsibility to be impartial. and for the current director general tim davie, this is crucial

for what he says is a cornerstone of the bbc — impartiality. if gary lineker breached the guidelines, why didn't you sack him? well, i think we always look to take proportionate action, and that's what we've done. but haven't you just kicked it further down the line? aren't you delaying the inevitable? i don't want to add to the statement. i think we've had very constructive discussions. the statement is very clear, and that's where we are. as editor in chief of the bbc, i think one of our founding principles is impartiality and that's what we're delivering on. and for the bbc there's another issue hanging over it — its chairman. there is an ongoing inquiry into richard sharp's role into a loan made to borisjohnson, which has raised questions about his appointment and impartiality. so it was only a day or two ago that gary lineker said he thought all this was beginning to abate. events have rather gone in the opposite direction. david sillito, bbc news. and the opposition labour party leader sir keir starmer has accused the bbc of bowing to government pressure.

the bbc is not acting impartially by caving in to tory mps who are complaining about gary lineker. they've got this one badly wrong and now they're very, very exposed, as is the government because at the heart of this is the government's failure on the asylum system. and rather than take responsibility for the mess they've made the government is casting around to blame anybody else, gary lineker, the bbc, civil servants, the blob. what they should be doing is standing up, accepting they've broken the asylum system and telling us what they're going to do to actually fix it, not whinging on about gary lineker. but the bbc has the right to expect its presenters to be impartial. it is not impartial for the bbc to cave in to tory mps complaining about gary lineker. it's the opposite of impartial. and now you can see just how badly exposed that they are. but at the heart of this it's very important to see what's going on. because the government has failed on the asylum system,

but instead of taking responsibility for that they're joining in blaming anybody else they can, gary lineker, the bbc, the civil service, the blob, you name it, they'll blame anybody but themselves. they should stand up, take responsibility, stop whinging about gary lineker and get on with the job. our correspondent charlotte gallagher is in front of the bbc headquarters in central london. a huge reaction to this, charlotte and the schedule is in disarray, tv and the schedule is in disarray, tv and radio affected, it's all going on, isn't it? talk us through it. yes, dessie said i'm here with a camera crew, and there are also camera crew, and there are also camera crews from many other different news organisations outside the bbc. this story has completely snowballed. it would be easier to say what football programming was happening today than the ones which are fair. match of the day is going to be very, very different, no

commentary, no pundits, no presenter. was taken off air because no presenters wanted to present it and fighting talk on radio 5 live has been taken off air, usually full of live football coverage can but todayit of live football coverage can but today it is different because it is full of pre—recorded programmes because so many pundits and presenters were refusing to take part and they said they were standing with gary lineker. some of the biggest names in sports broadcasting in the uk, alex scott, alan shearer, ian wright, dion dublin, all of those people saying they won't be taking part in bbc football programming today. some football programming today. some football clubs as well have said they won't take part in bbc interviews, a liguei they won't take part in bbc interviews, a ligue 1 club, much of the day is the premier league, but it said it would not allow its players to speak to the bbc. this is something that has angered a lot of people in football. gary lineker, one of the best—known sportsmen in this country, and those people think

he is being treated unfairly. the bbc say, however, that he broken editorial guidelines and he's been seen to be too political, too partial command thatjust can't do. but it's hard to really see how the situation will resolve itself, isn't it? either gary lineker comes back to much of the day, or he doesn't. but at this stage there doesn't seem to be an indication that he wants to change what he says on social media, so it's really a face—off between gary lineker and bbc bosses. trier? gary lineker and bbc bosses. very hard to see — gary lineker and bbc bosses. very hard to see where _ gary lineker and bbc bosses. very hard to see where it _ gary lineker and bbc bosses. very hard to see where it goes. we will talk to somebody who is an expert on communications on this in a moment. we have heard a few snippets of tim davie, the director—general, and others there, you have mentioned some of their statements. as anything been said to address these accusations that are coming from labour that the government has bowed to pressure, that the bbc has bowed to pressure, that the bbc has bowed to pressure, that the bbc has bowed to pressure from the government? flat to pressure from the government? not so far, to pressure from the government? iirrt so far, lucy, and that is an

accusation notjust coming from labour at this point, former bosses of the bbc are saying that the bbc has bowed to government pressure. greg bike, a former director general, predecessor of tim davie, has had what the abc have done about gary lineker is completely wrong. the thing is, the story about gary lineker�*s tweets were sort of bubbling along all week, it started on tuesday, and it was only on friday when the bbc said that gary lineker would no longer be hosting much of the day on saturday that this story completely ballooned and is less now about gary lineker and what he says on social media, than about all of the bbc and the future of impartiality, social media, and stars on the bbc, really loved stars, if you think about much of the day is a programme lots of people watch and they perhaps don't watch or listen to much other bbc coverage, this is real cornerstone of bbc schedules and they may turn on their tv tonight and it's not

there, so it is people that will feel really let down, really disappointed, and wejust feel really let down, really disappointed, and we just don't know what's going to happen next. tanks very much. — what's going to happen next. tanks very much, charlotte _ what's going to happen next. tanks very much, charlotte gallagher. - joining me now is steven barnett, a professor of communications at the university of westminster — who has also written a book about the bbc and its relationship with the government. give us your reaction, first of all. what charlotte was just saying, we had the tweets from gary lineker on the tuesday and the bbc said it was having words with gary lineker. and then a few days later he was then taken off much of the day. and the accusations coming from labour and others, as we have heard, is that it has been leaned on. what is your impression of what's going on here? charlotte is absolutely right. it has blown up and it is a blow—up of the bbc�*s own making, i'm afraid. i thought david sillito's report was spot on when he talked about the problem with the chairman richard

sharp who we know was a major donor to the conservative party. we know now he facilitated a loan to boris johnson. there was a scathing cross—party select committee report which came out obviously suggesting that he should consider his position. that was just last month. i think the problem is, and i su--ort... , . _._ support... did he directly say he should consider _ support... did he directly say he should consider his _ support... did he directly say he should consider his position? it| should consider his position? it said he had a significant error of judgment and it said he should consider its impact.— judgment and it said he should consider its impact. consider its im act. consider its impact. consider its impact. reading _ consider its impact. consider its impact. reading between - consider its impact. consider its impact. reading between the i consider its impact. consider its i impact. reading between the lines and i've appeared in front and it is pretty clear what they were suggesting. this has been a big part of the problem because at the same time as talking about gary lineker, everyone else is saying, well, what about lord sugar

brady who is right next to him, sits in the lords as a tory peer. what aboutjeremy clarkson when he was presenting? andrew neil, who i think is one of the best political presenters in the country, but he is chair of the spectator group and makes no bones about his conservative support. so all these people, i've in response to a complaint a couple of years ago about andrew neil to the bbc saying he has his own personal twitter account and what he says that twitter account is up to him. i think that's the right approach, within reason. bear with me, because i need to quickly say goodbye to viewers watching on bbc world around the world, thank you for watching. sorry, world around the world, thank you forwatching. sorry, i world around the world, thank you for watching. sorry, ijust world around the world, thank you forwatching. sorry, ijust had world around the world, thank you for watching. sorry, ijust had to do that. just on that point, talking about richard sharp, who we have talked about, the bbc chairman, normally in something like this with

the bbc chairman be talking to the director—general, tim davie, perhaps now, with all of what's going on? would they be having an influence on how they should be handling this? i think any responsible bbc chair should be looking at what is going on and, yes, being in conversation with the board and the director—general. the problem is that richard sharp is in a conflicted position. and actually, as i say, i supported his appointment, the bbc has a long history of both labour and conservative appointments as chair. but i think actually the correct response now, because it has blown up response now, because it has blown up in the way it has, is for the chairman to resign, to say that it's clear that this is now a question, a big question mark over the whole of the bbc�*s output and commitment to

impartiality. his own position makes that resolution of this problem almost impossible. and i think if he can go and then everything calms down a bit, then there could be a calm discussion about how these social media rules apply, who they apply to, why they have been applied to gary lineker in this case and not to, for example, andrew neil or lord sugar, and let the bbc think about the way in which it wants to implement those social media guidelines. in my view, there needs to be a lot more discretion for free speech outside of its news coverage. because as you well know, you are obliged to follow very strict rules of impartiality, quite rightly. but outside of news coverage in the entertainment field, as greg bike said, there has always been discretion for bbc presenters, personalities to express their views, that's the right way to go.

—— greg dyke. and that's what the bbc has to do. as a big sports fan, what worries me is the impact this will have on trust in the bbc, faith in the bbc, to cover important events outside of news is being eroded as we speak. i think there are a lot of licence payers out there who will be watching very closely and thinking, is it really worth paying this for the bbc? a that was going to be my next question, how far you think things like this affect the public and its opinion of the bbc in terms of whether they want to watch the programmes they like. could you imagine people not wanting to watch certain programmes because of something like this? i don'tjust mean sports programmes in solidarity with gary lineker, i mean more generally. i with gary lineker, i mean more generally-— with gary lineker, i mean more aenerall . ., �* ., ., generally. i wouldn't have thought --eole generally. i wouldn't have thought peeple would _ generally. i wouldn't have thought people would stop _ generally. i wouldn't have thought people would stop switching - generally. i wouldn't have thought people would stop switching off i people would stop switching off strictly come dancing because of what is going on here, but it does start to erode faith and belief in

the bbc�*s ability to withstand pressure, political pressure. i know keir starmer was talking, as one would expect him to do, about surrendering to the government. i think there is a rather more insidious influence here which was picked up by steve richards in the new statesman talking about the influence of the daily mail and the telegraph, and we do have a right wing press which is, dolus always been hostile to the bbc. my book came out 30 years ago and i was saying the same thing then. but what those two papers did with the story as they picked it up and ran with it, and it was almost as if the bbc itself picked up that agenda and decided that this was a story they were going to run with. and actually i think one of the things the bbc editorial team needs to think about very clearly is how much are they slavishly following an agenda set by

the right—wing press, who are still very powerful in this country. unfortunately we don't have somebody here from the bbc to defend themselves on that question. i suppose what they have been saying so far, as we were mentioning, as they say they have taken proportionate action on this and they are upholding the impartiality rules in this respect. i they are upholding the impartiality rules in this respect.— rules in this respect. i saw tim davie say _ rules in this respect. i saw tim davie say that. _ rules in this respect. i saw tim davie say that. i _ rules in this respect. i saw tim davie say that. i think - rules in this respect. i saw tim davie say that. i think there i rules in this respect. i saw tim - davie say that. i think there needs to be... we need to see bbc executives coming out and explaining themselves, actually. we need to see themselves, actually. we need to see them address the question about alan sugar and jeremy clarkson, andrew neil and all the other presenters who have quite clearly expressed their own views. and tell us why gary lineker has been picked out and what is going to be done now to address this real perception, it is notjust coming from keir starmer, an awful lot of people out there are saying this looks like abject surrender to a government ——

government pressure and right wing agenda setting. and we need to hear what the bbc is going to do about that, notjust in terms of news coverage, but for the good of our belief and trust in the bbc as a whole and its continuing independence. and i speak as a veteran ito—year supporter of the bbc. veteran 40-year supporter of the bbc. ., ~ veteran 40-year supporter of the sac. . ~ , ., veteran 40-year supporter of the sac. . ~ ,., y veteran 40-year supporter of the sac. . ~ y . veteran 40-year supporter of the sac. . y . ., ., ~ bbc. thank you very much for talking to us, bbc. thank you very much for talking to us. steven — bbc. thank you very much for talking to us, steven barnett, _ bbc. thank you very much for talking to us, steven barnett, professor- bbc. thank you very much for talking to us, steven barnett, professor of i to us, steven barnett, professor of communications at the university of westminster. we have asked for somebody from the bbc to come on to talk about this and we will let you know what they say and whether they come on and we will bring that to you. moving on now. the us treasury has moved to reassure investors after the largest bank failure since the financial crash of 2008. the collapse of silicon valley bank — a major lender to tech companies — triggered a share sell—off in other banks linked to the sector. for more on that, i'm joined now by peterjankovskis — he is vice president research

andanalysis at arbor financial services. thank you forjoining us. could you talk us through and explain why this has happened with silicon valley bank? it has happened with silicon valley bank? . , , has happened with silicon valley bank? , , ., bank? it has its roots in two factors, first _ bank? it has its roots in two factors, first economy - bank? it has its roots in two factors, first economy wide | bank? it has its roots in two - factors, first economy wide interest rates have risen tremendously, which has lowered the value of assets that were held by the bank, and that's not particular to silicon valley bank, it is true of all banks because instruments do drop when interest rates rise. the second factor that is very specific is that they had a very narrow customer base. not only was it focused on technology but they were focused on technology but they were focused on technology start—ups which are controlled largely by these financing arms and when those financing arms and when those financing arms and when those financing arm suggested there was trouble at the bank all of their clients and associates pulled money simultaneously, and so the bank did not have enough funds available to

make those calls.— make those calls. people have had issues trying _ make those calls. people have had issues trying to _ make those calls. people have had issues trying to get _ make those calls. people have had issues trying to get hold _ make those calls. people have had issues trying to get hold of - make those calls. people have had issues trying to get hold of their. issues trying to get hold of their money. will everybody get everything out that they need to? well. money. will everybody get everything out that they need to?— out that they need to? well, the federal deposit _ out that they need to? well, the federal deposit insurance - federal deposit insurance corporation has been very upfront saying anyone who has an account thatis saying anyone who has an account that is smaller than 250,000 will be made whole on monday, which i think is a very prompt response. of course what caused the nervousness for all these tech firms to leave was they were likely holding much larger balances, for example, to meet payroll, if you are a larger company, $250,000 is not nearly enough money, so those firms have decided to leave.— enough money, so those firms have decided to leave. some analysts say there could — decided to leave. some analysts say there could be _ decided to leave. some analysts say there could be further _ decided to leave. some analysts say there could be further runs - decided to leave. some analysts say there could be further runs on - decided to leave. some analysts sayj there could be further runs on banks next week. do you expect that too and do you think it could be confined just to banks in the tech sector? i confined 'ust to banks in the tech sector? ~ �* , ~ , sector? i think it's unlikely we will see anything _ sector? i think it's unlikely we will see anything widespread. | will see anything widespread. certainly the stock market reflects that as well. many of the very large

banks were down substantially on thursday when rumours emerged on this. jpmorgan, the largest bank in the us actually was up 2.5% yesterday. so i think most investors had decided this was an isolated event and do not expect this to spread further.— event and do not expect this to spread further. 0k, thank you for talkin: to spread further. 0k, thank you for talking to us- _ spread further. 0k, thank you for talking to us. appreciate - spread further. 0k, thank you for talking to us. appreciate it. - the man nominated as prime minister by china's president has been formally elected by the country's parliament. li qiang is the former communist party leader of china's biggest city, shanghai. a close ally of president shee, he's considered a pragmatic a close ally of president xi, he's considered a pragmatic and business—friendly appointee to manage the challenge of reviving the country's flagging economy. mr li is one of a number of loyalists whom the president is expected to install in key positions, following his re—election on friday. 0ur beijing correspondent — steve mcdonell — has been explaining the significance of the appointment. the story of this congress is the

story of xi jinping shoring up the story of this congress is the story of xijinping shoring up his already considerable grip on power. the latest step has been the appointment of the new premier. many were surprised when li qiang was put into this number two position in the chinese government system. that's because he was in charge in shanghai during the disastrous covid lockdown. very poorly handled. however, before that he was known to many in business there is a reasonably good leader. for example he was able to get tesla into the city, the us car—maker, he promoted shanghai's free—trade zone. either way, one thing we do know about him is that he is a very clear xi jinping loyalist. he was xi jinping's chief of staff when they were previously based in zhejiang. the question is will he be able to

get things done with xi jinping's backing, orwill get things done with xi jinping's backing, or will he be a figure that is afraid to give the frank advice that xijinping needs is afraid to give the frank advice that xi jinping needs to get because he's afraid of upsetting the person who put him there.— he's afraid of upsetting the person who put him there. steve mcdonell there, our beijing _ who put him there. steve mcdonell there, our beijing correspondent. l she was once a waitress at the 0scars — now her movie, all quiet on the western front, is nominated for no fewer than nine awards. we've been following the former scottish triathlete, turned movie—maker, lesley paterson, because her story is so remarkable. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson — no relation to lesley — donned his running shoes to catch up with her once again in hollywood. got the hollywood sign behind us! how does that make you feel, when you see that? oh, it's so iconic, it'sjust amazing. it's very weird to think i'm here and sort of going for the oscars. like, what? lesley paterson, the scottish triathlete in the running at the oscars. hello! good to see you, man. and she is loving los angeles. oh, my gosh, this is amazing, isn't it?

this is pretty much beverly hills. cheering for 16 years, the five—time off—road triathlete world champion used her prize money from races to keep alive her dream of a new film version of all quiet on the western front. finally, in 2022, it was made, with her script translated into german. now it's up for nine oscars and she's nominated for best adapted screenplay. what's the best photo you've taken this season? tom cruise. you got cruise? no, no, so, check this out. so i went up to tom cruise and i said, "hi, tom, my name's lesley paterson, writer of all quiet on the western front". and he said "i know your story". he said, "how many hours a day do you train?" iwas like... you are... no way! to be honest, just trying to soak it in, you know, it's so bizarre. i'm at the four seasons trying

on dresses for the oscars. like, who would've thought that? should we try this one, see if it fits. one, see if it fits? just to make a statement. i think this is ok. so how are you finding all this then? yeah, it's all very strange, all very strange. custom—made this, custom—made that, getting dressed, getting pampered, getting make—up and hair and this and that. so a long way away from the mud. i'd like to see you do a triathlon in one of those. could you imagine it? 0n the bike as well, that'd be pretty hilarious. but it's not actually the first time lesley�*s been to the oscars. i waited tables at the governors ball in 2005. so, i had judi dench and jennifer lopez on my table. so let's see who's going to be waiting me. i'll have a wee chat with them. they'll be like, "you'll never guess! i waited tables, lesley paterson was at mine!" lesley paterson, not for the first time in her life, is going for gold.

colin paterson, bbc news, hollywood. good luck to her. just to bring you a statement from the bbc we have just been sent through. this is all about the problems with the various sports shows that are off air today because of the support from fellow presenters and pundits for gary lineker who has been asked to step back after he criticised the uk government's asylum bill. the spokesperson from the bbc says "the bbc will only be able to bring limited sports programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that. we are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for bbc sports fans, and we are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon. that's the latest statement from the bbc. now on bbc news it's time for the weather with matt taylor. milderairand a thaw milder air and a thaw is on the weight today, later we could see some snow again, parts of northern

england into scotland, more especially on the hills, chance of some disruption, nowhere near as much as we saw in recent nights but to ten centimetres. lower ground, more hit and miss. it's because this weather front is pushing more hit and miss. it's because this weatherfront is pushing into more hit and miss. it's because this weather front is pushing into the cold air we have at the moment. a weather front has been cold air we have at the moment. a weatherfront has been producing rain and drizzle across parts of south—west england, south wales, increasingly so in northern ireland, and a bit of sleet and snow over higher ground before it turns back to rain. in the afternoon parts of north—west england and the midlands, towards southern england and the south—east could see some rain. away from that many parts dry, the odd snopes flurry in scotland, chilly day for most, 11 or 12 degrees across the south—west and into the channel islands. through the evening and overnight, rain turning to snow come across the hills of northern england and scotland, even to lower levels before turning back to rain later on. and what we will see later in the night, temperatures are rising rather than falling, this is how it looks as we start sunday morning. much milder start on sunday compared with this morning. the

weather front and still producing some rain, sleet and snow in the north—east of scotland to begin with and ahead of the next one are quite and ahead of the next one are quite a spell for a while but then those south to south—westerly wind pick—up and the milder air starts to work its way in. the driest conditions in the morning for many but northern ireland and scotland will see outbreaks of rain developed more widely as we go through the day. some rain into the north west of england, wales and the south—west later, a good part of central and eastern england staying dry on sunday. some sunny spells, crowding into the afternoon, a south to south—westerly breeze and look at the temperatures to finish, temperatures up to 13 or 1a degrees in the south, the thought setting and a risk of minorflooding. especially when we see more wet and windy weather spreading in through sunday night and into monday. 0n sunday night and into monday. on monday while we could see some snow on the high ground of northern scotland for most, outbreaks of rain coming and going during the day and heavy and thundery showers in the south—west. winds touching gale force if not more, 60 mph across the

north of scotland and the same in the south. it will be a pretty windy day for all on monday. but across southern areas it will be a mild one, chilly in the far north of scotland. see you again soon. this is bbc news. i'm lucy grey and these are the headlines. the bbc�*s football programmes are in disarray as on—air staff from various shows pull out of saturday's broadcasts in support of presenter gary lineker

who was told to "step back" after criticising the uk government's asylum bill. the corporation's director general, tim davie, insists the decision is to uphold impartiality rules. but the opposition labour party accuses bosses at the bbc of bowing to government pressure and says it's a mess. the us treasury has moved to reassure investors after the largest bank failure since the financial crash of 2008. the collapse of silicon valley bank triggered a share sell—off in other banks linked to the tech sector. officials in the german city of hamburg say the gunman who shot dead seven people at a jehovah's witness meeting hall was a former member of the religious group who left on bad terms. business leaders in the uk are warning that companies are facing a cliff edge in their energy bills from april, which could see thousands go under. you're watching bbc news. now it's time for fault line: the un and the quake in syria. screaming.

the earthquake strikes.