hello and welcome to bbc world news. the bbc�*s director—general, tim davie over the ongoing row with top sports presenter gary lineker. lineker, for tweeting criticism of the government's migration policy. in an interview with our north

america correspondent, tim davey insisted that he would not be resigning. well, i'm very sorry for the disruption today. it has been a difficult day and i am sorry that audiences have been affected and they have not got the programming. as a keen sports fan i know, like everyone, that to miss programming is a real blow and i am sorry about that. we're trying very hard to resolve the situation. and make sure that we get output back on air. he is an outstanding broadcaster. he is a brilliant broadcaster and to be clear, success for me is gary gets back on air and together we are giving the audiences that world—class sports coverage which, as i say, sorry we have not been able to deliver today. but gary lineker has made lots of comments before. you allowed him to criticise the qatari government on the bbc. why is this different?

this is nothing to do with anything to do with the specifics of where a tweet is sent and i will talk in general terms but it is about getting involved in party political matters. what i would say is, i am listening hard. this is been a tough time for the bbc and we care about our audiences. we want to get the right outcome for this. we're working very hard to get that done and i would like to see gary lineker return on air on the bbc. you're questioning his impartiality but there are lots of people who are questioning yours. they are saying that you buckled. under pressure from the uk government, the conservative party of which you were once a member, an official, and the press, to take action against gary lineker. is that true? is that the uk government, the right—wing press, all of that, that made a difference for you this time? absolutely not. anyone who knows me, by the way,

knows that we are in the bbc, and myself, are absolutely driven by a passion for impartiality. would you remove other presenters who give opinions? the would you remove other presenters who give opinions?— who give opinions? the current guidelines. _ who give opinions? the current guidelines, as _ who give opinions? the current guidelines, as they _ who give opinions? the current guidelines, as they exist - who give opinions? the current| guidelines, as they exist today, who give opinions? the current i guidelines, as they exist today, i want to reflect on those guidelines, which draw at the station between those who work on pan bbc figures which are different to those that appear on our programmes, we can debate that. we want to make sure that going forward we have a workable solution. let's be clear, we have got the best sports broadcaster in the world. we want to

make sure that he can come back on air, we work to make that happen, and everyone wants to see a reasonable solution to this, and thatis reasonable solution to this, and that is where i am. i am really focused on getting a solution and working quickly together to make it happen. you working quickly together to make it ha en. ., . working quickly together to make it hauen. ., ., , ,, working quickly together to make it ha en. ., ., , ,, , happen. you have suspended gary lineker for— happen. you have suspended gary lineker for an _ happen. you have suspended gary lineker for an anti-government i happen. you have suspended gary i lineker for an anti-government tweet lineker for an anti—government tweet and there are of course questions being asked about richard sharpe the chairman of the bbc was being investigated for facilitating a loan for former prime minister boris johnson, ymca still in a job was not your mac to be clear, we asked gary to step back. in terms of the chairman, i have a lot of responsibilities in this job, chairman, i have a lot of responsibilities in thisjob, one thing i do not have responsibility for the appointment of the chair. it is a different process. the way in which the board is hired, and that role is a different thing to editorial in the bbc, making those decisions, trying to be fair, and

getting a bbc that is truly impartial, and boy, we should be fighting for this in this world, calmly, rationally, fighting for a bbc that champions free speech. last auestion to bbc that champions free speech. last question to you, impartiality is a big part of the bbc but so is trust, right now there are many people in the uk that simply do not trust you, do you think you should? absolutely not. ithink do you think you should? absolutely not- i think my _ do you think you should? absolutely not. i think my job _ do you think you should? absolutely not. i think my job is _ do you think you should? absolutely not. i think my job is to _ do you think you should? absolutely not. i think my job is to serve - not. i think myjob is to serve licence fee players —— players, and deliver a bbc that is focused on world—class, impartial, landmark output, and i look forward to resolving the situation and looking forward to delivering that. that was the bbc director _ forward to delivering that. that was the bbc director general, _ forward to delivering that. that was the bbc director general, tim - forward to delivering that. that was l the bbc director general, tim davie. i'm joined now by our north america correspondent nomia iqbal — who has just interviewed the bbc director general

what were the key points you took away from that interview with tim davie? de away from that interview with tim davie? , , . ., , ., ., davie? de director general granted me a few minutes _ davie? de director general granted me a few minutes to _ davie? de director general granted me a few minutes to conduct - davie? de director general granted me a few minutes to conduct this i me a few minutes to conduct this interview with him. i doorstep him yesterday and today granted me a few minutes, and it is important to stress that the director general did not see any of my questions and that no editorial oversight in what i said. i think that there is really important to stress, because i did myjob as a journalist. i treated him like any other interviewee, in which i put those questions to him, in those short few minutes that i had with him. to answer your question, the takeaway from me on it is, how he didn't go into many details about what is happening with gary lineker, when he will be back on air. he did not want to go into the conversations they are having. and he did say that he is not

resigning. this, i put to him, is becoming unmanageable, and also, you know, is it that you could have done things differently? and i asked him another key question, what if gary lineker had supported the policy of the uk government? remember, his tweet was criticising the uk government policy on migrants, and he wouldn't go into that. he wouldn't go into any hypotheticals as he put it. but, he said that he loves hisjob. he prays gary lineker a lot, he said he is the greatest sports broadcaster but he did not give any details on what is happening with his future, and he said to me that he is absolutely not resigning, has he lost control of the bbc? but he said no.- resigning, has he lost control of the bbc? but he said no. when you start talking — the bbc? but he said no. when you start talking about _ the bbc? but he said no. when you start talking about resignation, - start talking about resignation, it goes beyond sport, it goes beyond

football. do you think he got the sense ofjust how much this had impacted the wider organisation of the bbc? i impacted the wider organisation of the bbc? , ., ., , the bbc? i put it to him that this is unprecedented, _ the bbc? i put it to him that this is unprecedented, what's - the bbc? i put it to him that this - is unprecedented, what's happening, in that you have got sports programming that is disrupted. that has never happened before. and you have got british people who pay the licence fee, not able to access programmes. you have also got fans watching football games with signs up watching football games with signs up supporting gary lineker. i put to him that that was unprecedented, and i asked him if he had lost control. he said no to that. the other things that i would like to point out is a big question that has arisen from a lot of his critics is to do with the bbc chairman richard sharpe. he is

effectively the director general�*s boss but has been accused of facilitating a loan for the former prime minister borisjohnson so he is accused of being closely aligned with the uk government. i said to tim davie, should he not be removed from hisjob? he wouldn't tim davie, should he not be removed from his job? he wouldn't go tim davie, should he not be removed from hisjob? he wouldn't go into that. he made the point of saying that. he made the point of saying that was not his responsibility. he is of course not responsible for what happens directly to richard sharpe. i asked what happens directly to richard sharpe. iasked him what happens directly to richard sharpe. i asked him does the understand the double standard but he wouldn't go into those details. that question on the chairman is something that has come up a lot. just to clarify for viewers, mr jacques's appointment was a political appointment, he is not involved in editorial matters and there is an investigation taking place at the moment. finally, very quickly, how is this being picked up where you are in the united states, this story? it where you are in the united states, this sto ? , ., , this story? it is an interesting one. this story? it is an interesting one- peeple _ this story? it is an interesting one. people are _

this story? it is an interesting one. people are curious, - this story? it is an interesting one. people are curious, why| this story? it is an interesting i one. people are curious, why is this story? it is an interesting - one. people are curious, why is the north america correspondent interviewing tim davie. there has been huge covers, some of the main media outlets have picked it up. remember this is the biggest news organisation in the world, and tim davie is at the top of that organisation as director general. so it has got a lot of attention here in the us, to answer your question. meanwile the person at the centre of the crisis went to join the crowds to support his home team today — leicester city as they were beat 3—1 by chelsea. he was seen relaxing and having his photos taken with fans. foxes fans outside the king power stadium of the past few days. he is a leicester legend and i think he has been very unfairly treated.

i disagree the whole banning element. i think he has a right to reflectl what other people are thinking. for somebody who has been on match of the day for over 20 years, ijust find it disappointing all that has gone on, reauy. — but i support him. i'm glad to see that other players and other pundits are supporting him so hopefully the bbc get the finger about getting back on tv. i'm disappointed with some of his comments, to be honest. - i think he's let himself down. i do believe in freedom of speech. he should be able to say- what he wants to say but, you know, think you have to take things into context and i don't think he - has really done together make you should be allowed - to have free speech. i think it is outrageous. it is expressing an opinion which happens to be at loggerheads with what the government have said. and, for that, he has

had to step down. leicesterfans outside the king power stadium. prime minister rishi sunak has issued a statement about the row. he says, "as prime minister, i have to do what i believe is right, respecting that not everyone will always agree. that is why i have been unequivocal in my approach to stopping the boats. gary lineker was a great footballer and is a talented presenter. "i hope that the current situation between gary lineker and the bbc "can be resolved in a timely manner, "but it is rightly a matter for them, not the government." as we mentioned, as well as the tv commentary, bbc radio's football commentary has also been impacted by the row. it's spread to scotland where coverage of sport on radio and television was affected. here's how ian dennis, introduced this afternoon's football coverage on radio 5live. good afternoon. i am ian dennis.

this is bbc radio 5live. it's a very difficult time for bbc sport and for those who work in the department. and we all hope that gets resolved. personally i found today very difficult but i am a bbc staff member, radio commentator for bbc radio 5live in today, like every saturday afternoon, we provide a service to you, the audience. paul siegert is the national broadcasting organiser for the uk's national union ofjournalists. he says the sports presenters and commentators who have pulled out of other shows this weekend haven't done anything wrong. well, they are not protected legally because they are not taking strike action. they are standing up for a colleague. they're taking support for a colleague. they are withdrawing their labour for a colleague and it is up to the bbc, not the law, and how they deal with that but they're not doing anything illegal because this is not organised action. and not on behalf of the trade

it is just one colleague standing up for another colleague. much of the day and football focus, individuals are losing a days pay because of today and that is how strongly they feel about the action the dg has taken today. i have spoken to colleagues and they don't take action like this lightly. they have been put in a very difficult position by gary lineker�*s suspension and it is something many of them have thought long and hard over but theyjust felt they had no option but to stand alongside him and other colleagues that announced they would not be appearing on match of the day and football focus earlier today. the amount of damage that has been done to the bbc�*s reputation not just in the uk but around the world, you can't help feeling that it could all have been avoided and it is very difficult now to see a way out of it. it is hard to see the dg backing down. so i am not sure.

i can't imagine anyone has answered the question you have been asking throughout the day because it does seem an impossible situation that the bbc has got itself into. paul siegert there. as the british branch of silicon valley bank heads for insolvency — the uk government is seeking to minimise any wider disruption to the tech sector. the british chancellor, jeremy hunt, spoke to the governor of the bank of england — following the collapse of the bank's american parent company. it's the biggest failure of a us bank since the 2008 financial crisis. thousands of protesters gathered in central london earlier to march in solidarity with nurses and junior doctors ahead of three days of strike action planned to begin on monday. frankie mccamley reports from today's support the strikes march. whose nhs? our nhs! between the strikes, a march of solidarity. i work in mental health, which is still an under—invested service. people are still suffering.

people are waiting for years and years, and just don't believe the lies, there is no new money coming in. you know, it's. .. and we have to be here to just defend those people who can't defend themselves, who are, you know, vulnerable and weak. i've been working in the service for eight years with an ambulance service. for me personally, it's more about the red tape up the top, the changes at the top, which are affecting us on the bottom and is preventing us from providing the care that we want to provide to the people. it's notjust nhs workers here. many are patients showing support. well, i would be dead at two if it hadn't been for the nhs because i was born two years before the nhs was born and i had double pneumonia. so suddenly my working class parents didn't have to pay a doctor, and i was saved. why have you come out, brought the kids as well? ijust think what's happening in the nhs under this government is absolutely appalling and ijust think unless we stand up for it, it'sjust going to disappear. well, there are thousands of people lining the streets here, each with a story to tell about the nhs, whether it's

working for them or being treated by someone in the nhs. now this march is leaving warren street. it's going through central london and ending in whitehall later this afternoon. chanting: claps don't pay the bills, claps don't pay the bills. _ organisers say the turnout is better than expected. it's really emotionally encouraging to see so much support. there's a lot of nhs staff here. they're fighting for the safety of patients and the integrity of the nhs. they are not simply asking for more money. # hey rishi, you're so tight # # you're so tight, you make us strike # hey rishi! the government says the nhs is not for sale, as it prioritises cutting waiting lists and invests record funding into health and social care services. it also says it's recruiting more staff and holding constructive and meaningful discussions with workers and unions. but with more strikes planned next week, there's clearly still a long way to go.

frankie mccamley, bbc london. business leaders are warning that companies are facing a "cliff edge" in their energy bills from april, which could see thousands of firms go under. they're urging the government in the coming budget, to extend the help on bills, provided throughout the winter. here's marc ashdown. i've spent £76.83 this week. and have you had it on much? no! sue has turned meter— reading into a fine art. after seeing her energy bills treble, she's cut back on everything, from doing her washing, to making tea. i turn radiators off in rooms. i've shut doors. i sit with a rug around me at night, in my lounge. you're just constantly cutting back on everything. since october, the government's energy price guarantee means a typical consumer pays a maximum of £2,500 a year. that figure is planned to rise to £3,000 in april, but could now be frozen where it is for another three months.

now, there will be some additional support for pensioners like sue, those on low incomes and on disability benefits. and if you want to see how you might be affected, there's loads of information on the bbc�*s website. now, it is worth noting that for the past six months, everyone's been getting a £66 discount on their bill, totalling £400 paid for by the government. but, at the end of this month, that is ending. businesses have also been receiving government support for their energy costs, but that's about to change from capped bills to a flat—rate discount. so you're seeing some bills will rise by three times, maybe even four times from the ist of april. that's a cliff edge. that's an energy cliff edge and something that we really, really need to avoid, because that will lead to over 300,000 small firms, we think, shrinking, restructuring or having to close. ben runs four convenience stores in the cotswolds. he's locked into a i2—month contract until october, which is about to get far more expensive. with the government support for the last six months,

that bill has doubled to £4,000 a month. from the 1st of april we will be looking at a bill here for £10,000 a month for this store alone. it's not manageable. the government said its package of energy support has been unprecedented and will continue to help businesses and households from april. wednesday's budget will lay out exactly what that help will be. marc ashdown, bbc news. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's karthi. after beating manchester united 7—0 last week, liverpool have followed that result up with a 1—0 defeat at bournemouth. liverpool started strongly but it was bournemouth that took the lead through phillip billing after nearly half an hour. liverpool had their chances, including a mo salah penalty, but, after becoming liverpool's all time top premier league scorer

salah missed the spot kick and missed the chance to stay in touch with the top four. the result lifts bournemouth off the bottom of the table. manchester city have moved to within two points of league leaders arsenal after a 1—0 victory over crystal palace. erling haaland scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot. arsenal travel to fulham tomorrow, and can restore the lead to five points. so, a great day for bournemouth. that win takes them out of the relegation zone. they're now level on points with leicester who were beaten 3—1 at home by chelsea. leicester in 16th place, a point above the relegation zone. everton securing a crucial 1—0 win at home to brentford. leeds are still second from bottom after coming back to draw 2—2 at home to brighton. and tottenham beat nottingham forest 3—i, harry kane scoring twice. celtic have joined second—tier inverness

in the scottish cup semi—finals, after putting three goals past hearts for the second time in four days. aaron mooy and cameron carter—vickers scored either side of this wonderful finish by kyogo furuhashi just before half time. that's 13 successive wins in all competitions for ange postecoglu's side. rangers host raith rovers tomorrow, while falkirk play ayr united on monday. it's been a bad day for england in the six nations. they've suffered their heaviest ever defeat, losing 53—10 at twickenham. the was england's heaviest ever defeat on their home ground and their heaviest defeat in the six nations. france ran in seven tries overall to secure their first win at twickenham since 2005. and all this as france prepare to host the world cup later this year. france can't win the grand slam after their defeat to ireland, but they could still win the championship, should results go their way. the england head coach said this was a hard one to take.

i'v e i've said before the game, that we will get a measure of where we are at in terms of our development and you can seejust at in terms of our development and you can see just how far away we are, in terms of there is a gap, a big gap. are, in terms of there is a gap, a big gap, between us and the top teams in the world. we have got to address it, and try to close that gap as quickly as we can. wales may well have avoided the six nations wooden spoon after their 29—17 victory over italy in rome. both sides had played three, lost three but wales finally managed a win. taulupe faletau scored the bonus point—winning fourth try. 29—17 the win. and that's all the sport for now. three family homes on the norfolk coast have been demolished, because of the risk of collapse into the sea. high spring tides have battered hemsby just north of great yarmouth, forcing residents to leave the wooden properties. jon ironmonger reports. it's high tide in hemsby,

and the coastline is shrinking once again. in the sea, remnants of a playhouse from the back garden of a property, which is among several on the marrams to be evacuated in the past 2a hours — though not entirely. it looks like two chickens have been forgotten about and not removed. so the guys from the lifeboat station have just come and plucked them out of their little cage — just in the nick of time, by the looks of it. just straight through to the sea. sure enough, seconds later, a shed beside the chicken coop vanishes into the waves. creaking and banging they may have survived the night, but at the last minute, three of the most perilous houses were earmarked for demolition. and sue, who bought hers has a renovation project three years ago, was given a few hours this morning to gather her belongings before the digger moved in. the odd curtain rail, the bell off the front. how does it feel, then, knowing that it's going today? devastating. it's all your dreams gone, all your dreams shattered.

yesterday, the council was granted emergency powers to build a rock barrier in order to shore up an access road that has been undermined and other homes now at risk. you're at the point of losing properties, when anybody actually is spurred into action. and that's certainly not the case. it's absolutely not the case. obviously we have to follow legislation, and that's what we have to do. as a borough council, as a local government organisation, that's what we have to do. it's too little, too late, for some in this worn—down community. jon ironmonger, bbc news. once again this year, huge flocks of starlings have been spotted in north yorkshire — in the north of england — putting on fantastic air displays for bird watchers. an estimated 250,000 of the birds made the ripon wetlands their homes last winter, with some birds coming from as far as scandanavia.

we think there has been anywhere between a quarter of a million starlings this year, we have had some big groups in the past but we think this year is exceptional. the starling murmuration has attracted a large number of visitors to come from further afield than yorkshire, every afternoon, also weekend days, we have had a couple of hundred people here. a lot of these birds will be british breeders so will be going back to disperse back to their territory any time now. the cold weather might have delayed them a little bit but many of them will be from further afield, maybe from scandinavia or eastern europe, and have come to britain for the milder climate. starlings are nationally in decline so we are delighted that we are able to look after them here in the winter, they have lost a lot of breeding sites and food that they need to rear their young, so we really should be welcoming them.

now on bbc news the weather with chris fawkes. hello. following the disruptive snow, we have been left with snow across the northern hills in particular. this was derbyshire. notice this line of cloud workings way in. that is the first sign of of a weather front. through the afternoon that has been bringing snow back to conwy in north wales. some spots have got 20 centimetres across parts of north wales, the staffordshire mers, i9 wales, the staffordshire mers, 19 centimetres on the ground at the moment but there could be a bit more from this weather front that is edging in at the moment. the snow will be affecting hills, lower down we are looking at outbreaks of rain living in overnight. across northern england and scotland, you could get a few centimetres above 200 metres of elevation, and about 400 is, 5—10

centimetres is possible for milder air works its way in and it turns back to rain. it will be a mild night for most, 5 degrees by dawn with the frost limited to northern areas of scotland. by sunday, that weather system continues to push away. the next one will be working in through the day with a strengthening south—westerly winds, dragging up some mild air. for most of the uk, we should see some sunshine at least for a time during the morning, with a thaw setting in place, and later in the day the cloud thickening in the west with outbreaks of rain living in, some of that quite heavy. temperatures 10-14, that will that quite heavy. temperatures 10—14, that will melt the snow pretty quickly where it is still lying over hills. through sunday into monday, the same area of low pressure still on the charts. the wind strengthening and it will be a blustery all day on monday, with outbreaks of rain easing to showers. the wind going to a northerly direction, and in scotland we will

see some hill snow above 200 metres elevation but pretty blurry across england and wales, with gusts up to 50 mph, strong enough to bring down some tree branches. still mild, temperatures between 12—14, but the colder air starting to edge back into scotland and as we head towards tuesday and wednesday, that cold air sinking south was again and we will see snow in the scottish hills above 200 metres elevation, and with wintry showers elsewhere, it will start feeling cold again.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines... the bbc�*s director general, tim davie, apologises for the widespread disruption to bbc sports output today after presenters and pundits walked out in support of the match of the day host gary lineker. the prime minister rishi sunak said he hoped the controversy can be resolved but that it was a matter for the bbc, not the government. the opposition labour party accuses the bbc of bowing to government pressure. the german interior minister is leading calls to tighten the country's gun ownership laws, after six people were shot dead in hamburg on thursday. eight others were wounded in the attack on a group

of jehovah's witnesses.