arranged a meeting of area. she arranged a meeting of regional police forces to begin a major multi—force investigation. she offered the defendant in a safe house or even participation in a witness protection scheme. the crown were able to prove and i am sure that the allegations were a complete fiction. certain parts were readily this provable. she had been to amsterdam, but with her sister and her sister because �*s partner to save money, they had all three shared a hotel room at night and were in each other�*s company all day. at trial to defend and try to claim that they temp two sell her by mr ramzan happened on this trip, but her sister and her sister because my partner gave evidence to the effect that she was never out of their sight. the females she named as co—victims of trafficking were spoken to. many were profoundly upset by the suggestion, some gave

evidence at court, that many of the statements denied that they were ever traffic for ready trial. none of them had ever been trafficked. during the investigation mr ramzan was arrested. he had never really met the defendant, had nothing to do with trafficking, had never been alone in a room with errors let alone in a room with errors let alone had sex with her. he described in court is utter consternation at being publicly arrested on the promenades and questioned by the police. i will set out more of the impact of this offending upon him and his family later in his remarks. the defendant set about seeking to back up allegations against mr ramzan and the fictitious traffickers. she did so in a number of ways. i will summarise here only some of them. she manipulated people with whom she was in contact via

snapchat to contact her. she would rename these people in her phone with the names of supposed traffickers. she would induce sexual messages from them and take screenshots of those messages, thus it would appear that she had a message with the sexual overtone from someone with the name of one of the supposed traffickers. when she was in the playstation cheat would elicit such messages to ensure that there was live evidence of supposed trafficker pestering her. a number of these people came to court to give evidence. one young man from essex had been rebadged by the defence in her phone as shaggy, the name of one of the supposed people traffickers from barrow. it was in fact the young man from essex who had had little contact with the defendant. she had told him she was from portsmouth and cultivate a friendship with him to create messages she could later use. another was a big school acquaintance who wanted a

relationship with her. he was renamed to haran. she then took screenshots of these messages falsely appearing to come from him so that she could say there was evidence of her being trafficked. the defendant manipulated friends and work colleagues to involve them unwittingly in her deceptions. she invented people in her phone who simply did not exist. she sometimes used two microphones, want to send, and want to receive messages from supposed traffickers or trafficked women. she would then take screenshots of those messages. there were other types of message she created. she would inflict unpleasant injuries on herself which she later attributed to dash to fictitious traffickers. she wrote letters to yourself supposedly from this man. she may false diary entries. based upon the evidence i

have heard i am sure of all the matters set out above. it follows in relation to account five, she is to be sentenced on the basis of all of the particulars under paragraph essay and paragraph b. i turn to count six. whilst the defendant had refused to participate in a witness programme, she did agree to be temporarily housed by the police in a hotel close to kendall police station. the police arranged for her to have a job there. these events happened during the timeframe of count five. however, because the issue was completely different to the remainder of con five, it was reflected in a separate account. it is convenient to deal with it at this stage. on the 30th ofjune 2019 the defendant left the hotel provided by the police and travel to blackpool by train. she had already booked yourself a hotel room there.

the undisputed evidence was that she checked into her room and spent most of her time there. when she did go out, she was alone and on foot. she was seen on video to make notes on her phone of the vehicle registration number of a car and the details of a takeaway restaurant. having done so, she went to a shop, bought some food, sat in her hotel room and watch youtube videos. the next day she got up late and made her way to preston. the police and her way to preston. the police and her family were worried about her. she had ignored their messages. eventually, police officers traced her to preston and lecturer there. she was driven home to barrow in furness and in the early hours of the morning detective inspector nutter came to metre, worried as to what had happened. the defendant was later to tell police in great detail that the traffickers had found her

in kendall and instructed her to go to blackpool. there she said she was met by mr ramzan and threatened with a violent death. she was made to visit for premises and idiot was brutally raped by multiple men. the car whose registration number she had noted don was, she said, used to transport her between properties. a flat above the takeaway, whose detail she had noted down, was the venue for one of these attacks. officers took her to blackpool twice to try and identify the locations of these places. this account was all completely false. eventually, confronted by incontrovertible evidence, she was forced to accept that none of this was true. she was later to claim a child that she was forced to give this false account by the traffickers, but i wrote that duress was not available to her. indeed, i am sure that no one pressured her to go to blackpool at

all. she did so entirely of her own volition in order to make up false allegations against mr ramzan and others. i turned to count seven. on the 18th ofjuly 2019 the defendant caught a train to leeds. the clear evidence is that she spent a good part of the day in the park. she had two macro telephones with her. she travelled back to preston as she walked into the town centre. a young man walking home from a family party happened upon her. he asked herfor a light and they started to talk. they had a brief and entirely consensual sexual encounter. the defendant then got the train to barrow in furness, exchanging details with the young man, and tentatively agreeing to meet him at a later date. once in barrow in furness she walked to her flat, her brother because my girlfriend happened to see her as she walked home, picked up and took her home.

much of this, including much of what happened in preston was caught on closed—circuit television. i know it was the early hours of the 19th of july. once her brother learned from his girlfriend that the defendant was at home he called the police. everyone had been frantically worried about her all day and she had been ignoring their messages. when the police arrived at her house to defend the attempted to be semiconscious. thejury to defend the attempted to be semiconscious. the jury and to defend the attempted to be semiconscious. thejury and i saw body worn footage captured by the officers. it is clear that the defendant was playacting, pretending to be semiconscious. she was injured but the clear evidence was that she had inflicted the injuries upon herself. she then created a false account of what had happened in leeds, preston and barrow that day. all of this account was inconsistent with cctv, telephone and other evidence. she told the police that

on wednesday the 17th ofjuly and a man called salsa, and invented traffic came to her door and slapped her in the pin pinter to the wall, and told her to follow orders she would get on snapchat. he said that she needed to earn them £10,000 as a result. she said that she was then told to go to leeds. there she was taken to a house where she had sex with two men. she and a girl called molly then walked to another premises. there were other girls there. there she said she had sex with three men. she was then driven to a chicken shop in headingley where she had sex with another man. she then said she had driven to bramley and then bradford where she had sex with three men. she then saw her passport on the table with a ring on it and flight details to bangladesh, so she ran. when the

traffickers were able to contact her by phone she was told to go to preston. she said that the young men she had met in preston was a trafficker and that he had sent a message telling her that he had lined up some cocaine on a bench and she had no choice but to take it. she said that he took a tattoo asian men who paid him to have sex with her. she then said that the young man himself then took it down a back alley and raped her. eventually she said she was allowed to return to barrow in furness. he met at the train station and he drove her home. we have seen the video footage of her walking home. she said that when she opened her door he and another man forced their way in and she was forced to have sex with them both. second microstructure in the face and told her to sort yourself out and told her to sort yourself out and they would be bad for her 2am. ten minutes later the police arrived

and she could not recall anything further until she woke in hospital. this was a complete fabrication. much of it could be disproved from cctv in preston and barrow in furness. what happened in leeds were shown to be false about the location of her phone. she had during the course of the day created other evidence to support the false account shinji she would give. most notably, she accused —— had used one of the two phones she had with that day to send messages from a person she described as nickel to herself. she had taken

screenshots of those messages. nicole was supposed to be a fellow trafficked woman who was being raped at the parties. nicole was supposedly angry at the defendant for leaving her and the other victims in leeds. however, they agreed evidence was that when nicole was apparently complaining about being left in leeds by the defendant the phone from which the messages were being was with the defendant on the train back to preston. she was sentin the train back to preston. she was sent in clinical messages from one phonein sent in clinical messages from one phone in her possession to the other phone in her possession to the other phonein phone in her possession to the other phone in her possession to the other phone in her possession. i turned out to count dates. in may 2020 at the defendant was on bail for perverting the course of —— course ofjustice. it is clear that she was still intent on trying to invent evidence to support her previous accounts. in the earlier part of 2020, the instances of her apparently going missing and turning up apparently going missing and turning up intoxicated and injured had increased. on the 18th of may 2020 she set out from home on foot. it is clear from the evidence that she never left the island and never enter the vehicle. at 20 to 49 she was found by police close to her home. she had multiple injuries. one

eye was swollen shut. she had hammer injuries to her legs and abdomen which were too numerous to count. part of her little finger was partly severed. these injuries were all self—inflicted. her account was that she had intended to catch a bus to travel to barrow but one of the male is associated with those who had exploited her offered her a lift, which she accepted. she then said that she was taken to a house in barrow in furness. there were ten males there. she said that the number of named men raped her at that property. one of them assaulted her and tried to cut her finger off. one of them drove her back and she walked off towards the police found her. a few days later the police found a hammer which she had purchased some days before. it was hidden against a fence close to whether police had found her. it

bore traces of her blood and dna. a home office pathologist gave evidence to the effect that the serious injuries she had sustained were completely consistent with her account and completely consistent with being self—inflicted with a hammer that she had bought, which was found close to her and which bore her dna. on the 20th of may 2019 the defendant made a facebook post in which he posted shocking photographs of the injuries she had inflicted upon herself. these photographs were very graphic and bound to produce a significant response. in that post she referred to these having been inflicted by three, as she put it, asian men as they took her to various sex parties. in that same post she referred to having been similarly abused by asian men and men of pakistani origin in various locations across the north of

england for a number of years. she said that she would continue to tell the police everything she knew. she encouraged parents to be vigilant and children to speak out if they were this is bbc news broadcasting from london. welcoming viewers from around the world as we turn to preston crown court and the judgment of robert walton in the case of eleanor williams facing nine counts of perverting the course ofjustice in which she was convicted yesterday. in which she was convicted yesterday-— in which she was convicted esterda . ~ , yesterday. when she entered her lea, it yesterday. when she entered her plea. it was _ yesterday. when she entered her plea. it was on — yesterday. when she entered her plea, it was on the _ yesterday. when she entered her plea, it was on the basis - yesterday. when she entered her plea, it was on the basis only - yesterday. when she entered her plea, it was on the basis only of. plea, it was on the basis only of what she wrote to her sister and not what she wrote to her sister and not what was said to her mother in the context of this case it is not necessary to decide that issue and i will sentence her on her basis. the defendant is 22. she had no convictions prior to these matters

coming before the court. i note that she was under 18 at the time of the commission of count one, she had turned 18 by the time all other offences were committed but i bear in mind her young age and the principles set out in the guideline in relation to sentencing children and young people. though she was an aduu and young people. though she was an adult at the time of the commission of the vast majority of this offending, and was there in mind her maturity as well as her chronological age. there is evidence that she is immature. in part from her age, there are some other personal mitigation. there are clear overtones and difficulties in her childhood as she has been self harming from young age however there is little clarity about what these difficulties involved. it is mitigation that before this offending she was of good character. it is troubling, to say the least, that she shows no significant sign of remorse, even continuing to

profess the truth of her allegations. the only flick of appreciation of what she has done came today with a brief note read by her counsel, regretting the effects of her post on the 20th of may, 2020. i have received much psychiatric evidence in this case, all of which i have read. i had evidence yesterday from the doctor called on the behalf of the defendant. the doctor maintains that the defendant has a complex of post—traumatic stress disorder, another doctor has provided a report for the crown, not accepting that this is a conclusion that can be drawn given that there is no satisfactory account of any antecedent trauma. i agree with the conclusion of the second doctor, that there is no evidence upon which i could conclude that there is a complex post—traumatic stress disorder. since she has been found guilty, the defendant has hinted at other sources of trauma but has given no real indication as to what it could be. of course, i have

considered whether the aberrant nature of these offences means that i should assume that the defendant is suffering from some mental impairment. there is no explanation for why the defendant would commit these offences. she has gone to extraordinary lengths to create false accusations including causing herself significant injury. no explanation has been given which is apparent however that does not mean that i should speculate unless and until the defendant chooses to say why she has told these lies, we will not know. in any event, i question the relevance of the defendant suffering from a complex post—traumatic stress disorder in relation to sentence. when doctor baker mick gave evidence yesterday, i asked her to comment on whether such a condition could reduce the probability of a person to be sentence for perverting the course ofjustice. the first doctor told us that this is not within the scope of her instruction on the defence. when

i asked the question of the first doctor, miss blackwell, casey, intervened, telling it was not the defence case that the defendant's complex post—traumatic stress disorder, if that is what he has, is relevant to culpability. i do accept that it relevant to culpability. i do accept thatitis relevant to culpability. i do accept that it is part of her personal mitigation that she has vulnerabilities that i will take into account. i turn to the structure of the sentence. the count which concerns c and the counts which concerns c and the counts which concerns c and the counts which concern mr trent gove are separate from each other and separate from each other and separate from each other and separate from the offending in this case however the offending accounts of five, six, and seven, can properly be regarded as a cause of context. counts eight and nine are part of the same force of conduct and whilst they could be seen as part of that represented by counts five, six, seven, they concern a separate incident and were committed on bailfor other separate incident and were committed on bail for other matters. separate incident and were committed on bailfor other matters. i intend to impose concurrent sentences on

counts 56 and seven however there will be a consecutive sentence on count one and additional sentences on counts two, three, four, concurrent with each other, but consecutive with the other sentences. there will be further sentences. there will be further sentences on counts eight and nine, concurrent with each other, but consecutive to the other sentences, save that i will temper the structure of the sentences to give effect to totality. there is no guideline for this offence. i apply the general guidelines overarching principles. the maximum sentence is at large. i have been provided with at large. i have been provided with a number of authorities which i have read, there are no analogous offences for which there are guidelines. i considerfirst the defendant's culpability, then the home, i consider the purposes of sentences, sentencing, and then the aggravating and mitigating features. i must then consider totality before arriving at my final sentence. the

cases to which i have been referred provide the following factors which are amongst those which i should bearin are amongst those which i should bear in mind. i remind myself that because this offence strikes at the heart of the administration of justice, it is to be regarded as serious. deterrence is an important aim of sentencing, though, i must remember that when sentencing young people, this may be extinguished or diminished by the principal aim of the youthjustice diminished by the principal aim of the youth justice system to prevent offending by young people and i must have regard to the welfare of the defendant. this offence is a fact specific, previous cases are of little assistance. when considering culpability, i must take account of the seriousness of the underlying offence. i bear in mind the nature offence. i bear in mind the nature of the deceptive conduct and the time over which it continued. i consider whether the offence cast suspicion on others, whether others were arrested, in this case, i am asked to consider community impact,

i will set out in detail my approach in this regard. in relation to all counts, i bear in mind that these were allegations of sexual offences. these carry not only the risk of prosecution but also a potentially indelible stain on the character and reputation of everyone accused. sexual allegations, even were disproved, often leave the falsely accused person living under a general and misplaced suspicion. i consider culpability and time. in count one, the culpability is high. the allegation was very serious. however, the defendant withdrew his support for the prosecution of c. after two months. the home is also high in his victim personal statement. see sets out how frightening it was to be wrongly accused and then kept in a police station. he had to remove himself from social media because he was

wrongly accused of being a rapist. even five years later, he says he doesn't go to barrow town centre because he fears he is under suspicion. he couldn't even bring himself to pick up his son from nursery forfear of what himself to pick up his son from nursery for fear of what people were saying. he describes the defendant's false allegations against him as the worst experience of his life. he does not think he will ever recover. in relation to counts 2—4, the culpability is higher still. the allegations were even more serious and there were a number of them. they were maintained over a longer period, they were bolstered by the creation of false evidence, with some degree of sophistication. the harm is also even higher than in count one. mr trent go's house was spray—painted with the word rapist, his mother had to leave her house, he was remanded into custody between

may and august 2015, even when released on bail conditions he actually far from home for 15 days, when he was returned to barrow he was abused in the street by strangers, he became isolated, he tried to take his life in august 2020 and is still taking antidepressant medication. he lost any sense of self—confidence, he says he can no longer work, he has a child now, and social services received scores of anonymous phone calls saying he is a rapist and not safe to be with his child. he recently moved house and a neighbour called him a rapist, saying they didn't want him living there. the culpability in relations to count five, six, and seven could hardly be higher. the allegations made were of the utmost severity. they were made over a protracted period. there was considerable is sophistication in the creation of false evidence to support them. the harm in relation

to these counts is extremely high. mr ram and was arrested on the 7th ofjuly 2019 in the public street, in the community where he lives, and then held in custody for 36 hours. two weeks after his arrest, he was in such despair that he tried to kill himself in front of his family in a most graphic and upsetting way. he sustained injury in that attempt which has left scars. though, he was informed the next month that there would be no further action by the police, that was, as he puts it in his statement, only the start of the worst period of his life. he then describes being targeted by sections of the barrow community, he has been unable to sleep, and to this day, fears for his safety. the windows of his vehicles have been smashed and their tyres damaged. he and his family have had to endure abuse. the windows of his rental property have

been put in and then once repaired, immediately put in again. he has received countless death threats over social media, he has felt anxious going out for the last three years. his family, including his children, have been affected for a period they had to move out of the family home, he describes the trauma of being cross—examined in court during the trial. his business was ruined. he describes going from a successful businessman to someone who has virtually nothing. also in consideration of harm is the young man who happened to meet the defendant in preston on the 18th of july, 2019, on the way back from leeds. when he was told that he had been accused of raping the defendant, he suffered serious consequences. he tells me, in his statement, that he was studying for professional exams and doing well at work. as a result of this allegation, he was unable to

continue his studies and hasn't worked since. he tells me he has suffered a serious crisis in his mental health, he attempted to kill himself, although, the tone of his statement suggests that this false allegation was not the only cause of these problems, it is his belief that they significantly contributed to. he remains anxious about going out and meeting people, he doesn't trust people, he found the trial itself very stressful, since then, he has started to feel better. i turn to the statements of those if were wrongly identified as being the victims of exploitation. their names may not be reported. they all refer to the surprise of being approached by the police, about matters of which they knew nothing. one then refers to particular problems that she had as she was pregnant at the time, she was spoken to and particular problems which follow. another speaks of her feelings, and having been, as she puts it,

exploited by this defendant. another speaks of the disruption of being required to give evidence at court at a particularly inconvenient time in her life. i now turn to the question of community impact. under section 63, of the sentencing act 2020, i must consider the harm which the defendant intended and that which might reasonably been caused. i have seen statement in relation to this topic and viewed a compilation of footage taken at the time. according to the statement of the superintendent, the period following the facebook posts on the 20th of may 2020 was turbulent in barrow. he says that barrow had not seen such a public display of anger for 30 years. there were public demonstrations, targeting the local paper, the local asian community, and the police. this was in the height of the first lockdown and the

superintendent tells me in his statement that there was a sense of heightened tension for about four months. the comments attracted by the defendant's post named local businesses who feared they would be subject to attack. we businesses who feared they would be subject to attack.— subject to attack. we are going to leave the judge — subject to attack. we are going to leave the judge for _ subject to attack. we are going to leave the judge for viewers - subject to attack. we are going to leave the judge for viewers on - subject to attack. we are going to | leave the judge for viewers on bbc two, they are going off to their own programmes now, thank you for your company. viewers on bbc world news and bbc news remain with us for the judgment from preston can cause. the fire judgment from preston can cause. tue: fire service judgment from preston can cause. tta: fire service installed judgment from preston can cause. tt9 fire service installed smoke alarms at vulnerable premises, local genesis were the subject to credible threats. one left her home and moved out of the area. racist, anti—police graffiti was sprayed on a wall in barrow, threats were made on social media against the police. a demonstration convoy of cars drove from barrow to older stone and back again on the 25th of may. the police were under pressure from those who

believed they were complicit in a cover—up on the one hand, and those who felt unsafe at the hands of the apparent vigilantes on the other. individual police officers on patrol seeking to support the community, and covid, was subject to insults. social services will also the subject of unwarranted insults and criticism. the local newspaper was subject to boycotts and ultimately, i'm told, collapsed for financial reasons. though, there is no evidence before me, on which i could conclude that this was a direct result of the boycott. by mid june there were ongoing protests. these appear to have been in response to a person from outside barrow who was active in the demonstrations having been arrested. the issue then appeared to be more his arrest, nonetheless, there were serious consequences and indian restaurants windows were smashed. there were

further protests and further allegations of a police cover—up. in the meantime, there were credible threats to police officers. attempts were made to find their home addresses. online threats were made, that they would be found, and they would be harmed. i am told that this state of progress continued until the august of 2019. local people felt motivated to donate their money to a fund which was set up to support this defendant. this fund quickly reached £22,000. what effect, if any, should this have on the sentence of the defendant? during the course of this trial, i have heard many days of evidence from this defendant and have read hundreds of her social media can mitigation is. it is not the crown's case that when she blamed asian and pakistani men for her abuse, she was racially motivated. i agree with that position, and will sentence on the basis that she was not so motivated. i note that in this case

she has made false allegations about white men also. i am sure she chose to lie about asian men because she was modelling her lies on other cases of national prominence. she regarded the prospects of being believed as a greater if she based them on true cases already within them on true cases already within the public consciousness. she was not principally motivated by a desire to stir up public unrest. however, i cannot conclude that she chose to make her facebook posts of the 20th of may 2020 for any other reason than she intended to create an impact within the town. i accept that there was no direct incitement to do anything, but it was entirely foreseeable that there will be considerable community impact upon those of asian or pack pakistani heritage. she cannot be held wholly or directly responsible for criminal

behaviours as an excuse for their own in its usable con ducks but it was foreseeable that others would behave in anti—social ways. it was not foreseeable that a cause would be taken up by those outside barrow and developed to the extent that it did. however, some community impact was foreseeable. to that limited extent, i take into account the community impact. the harm of this offending extends to an undermining offending extends to an undermining of public confidence in the criminal justice system. we are aware that sex trafficking of young female does occur. there is a risk that genuine victims will come as a result of this defendant's action, feel deterred from reporting it. people may be less likely to believe the allegations. i am sure that those charged with investigating such offences will do all in their power to avoid any reluctance to investigate such allegations. in

this case, i make reduction for the defendant's age, then for personal mitigation, in relation to count nine only, i reduced the sentence for credit for a guilty plea. i then further adjust the sentences for totality. to assist in understanding how i have arrived at my overall sentence, ifirst how i have arrived at my overall sentence, i first set out the sentences after trial for each count without applying any reduction for any of these factors. in relation to count one, the sentence would have been two years imprisonment. for count two, three, and four, five years imprisonment, concurrent with each other but consecutive to the sentence on count one. four counts of five, six, seven, seven and a half years imprisonment, concurrent with each other but consecutive to the sentences already imposed. for count eight, two years in prison, and for count nine, one year and four months imprisonment, both consecutive to the sentences already imposed. i then turned to the

various reductions for the factors mentioned above. the defendant was a child when she committed to the offence at count one. the relevant guideline indicates that the court should take, as its starting point, the sentence likely to have been imposed on the date at which the offence was committed. that sentence would have been, if custodial, a detention and training order of less than two years. the reduction for the adult sentence will be one half for count one. in relation to the other accounts, the reduction for eight will be of the order of one quarter. there will be a reduction for age for one third from the adult sentence with relation to counts 2-4. in sentence with relation to counts 2—4. in relation to the other counts, the reduction for it will be of the order of one quarter. she was 19 during much of this offending, after herfalse 19 during much of this offending, after her false allegations about some of the defendants, this is not

naivety. that it claims the reduction. i then reduce the sentences further to take account of her personal mitigation for so i then reduce the sentence on count 90 reflector credit. finally, itake account of totality. i take account of 89 concurrent and other sentences and by further reducing sentences on counts 5—7. eleanor williams, and by further reducing sentences on counts 5—7. eleanorwilliams, please stand. these are the counts 5—7. eleanor williams, please stand. these are the sentences that you will serve. on count one, there will be a sentence of six months imprisonment. on counts 3—5, the sentence will be three years imprisonment concurrent on each count but consecutive to the sentence on count one, giving a total sofa of 3.5 years. there will be sentences of five years on counts five, six, seven, concurrent with one another but consecutive to the sentences already imposed. finally, there will be a sentence of one year and three months imprisonment on

count eight and six months imprisonment on count nine. those sentences to run concurrently with each other and to the other sentences imposed. that gives a total sentence of 8.5 years imprisonment. you will serve half of the total sentence of imprisonment in custody, after which, you will be released on licence. the days are spent in custody will count towards your sentence. you have spent 361 days on a qualifying curfew. because of that, the time you will spend in custody is reduced by 179 days. if that figure is incorrect, it can be corrected later, without a further hearing. on release, your license will be subject to conditions. if you breach the terms of your license, you will be liable to be recalled to serve the remainder of the sentence. there is an application for a serious crime prevention order. ifind application for a serious crime prevention order. i find that this is a serious offence for the purposes of this application. there

are reasonable grounds for believing that the order will protect the public. i exercise my discretion in favour of making the order is sought with amendments to the effect that she may also possess a tablet and games console, and you may also be able to operate a work and a personal e—mail. that audible run for a period of five years from the 17th of february 2025. i ordered deprivation and description of the items on page one, of divider eight of the crown's bundle of documents. if the statutory surcharge divides, the order can be drawn up in the appropriate amount. thank you, sit down, please. appropriate amount. thank you, sit down. please-— appropriate amount. thank you, sit down, please. that was judge robert altman giving — down, please. that was judge robert altman giving sentence _ down, please. that was judge robert altman giving sentence in _ down, please. that was judge robert altman giving sentence in the - down, please. that was judge robert altman giving sentence in the case i altman giving sentence in the case of eleanor williams. eleanor williams was convicted of nine counts of conspiracy to prevent the course ofjustice, effectively, the jury course ofjustice, effectively, the jury at preston crown court found

her guilty of lying. as a judge was saying, the first offence was actually committed while she was still underage, and therefore, he was able to work that into the sentencing guidelines. what is so interesting about these in vision at courtjudgments in serious trials, which were only introduced injuly of last year, with the first of them at the old bailey, the central criminal court in london, is that they give the public the chance to begin to understand the rules under whichjudges operate. we begin to understand the rules under which judges operate. we often think thatjudgesjust give a which judges operate. we often think thatjudges just give a sentence and they have a very broad idea of a range that parliament sets the top on the bottom but they also have judicial sentencing guidelines in england and wales and they very strongly restrict the amount of discretion judges have strongly restrict the amount of discretionjudges have in terms of the sentence they can impose. what is so striking about the eleanor williams case is that the jury was convinced that she was a liar, there was no explanation in the end of

what led to it, although the defence as part of their case had argued that eleanor williams, a lot of the social media posting began when she was in lockdown because of covid, and that social media life that many people are living became one of the reasons that led to this. what then happened was other people picked up the allegations on social media, there became a big campaign in barrow in furness in the north west of england at the time, in cumbria, and as a result of that, there was some very serious incidents that the judge referred to where people who were innocent, because of the accusations, by eleanor williams, faced a really serious backlash. their properties were attacked, the word rape was sprayed on the house of one of the men, and in another case, a man was on remand for ten months, accused of crimes which he did not commit, this has been a very sorry case for many people living in the area. it will remain questions

to be asked about how it was investigated and how it was reported. we will be hearing from our correspondence during the course of the rest of the day. for now, we say goodbye to viewers internationally, you are watching world news, from the bbc. it's a colder day today for most of us compared to the kind of temperatures we had yesterday, you can see that with the blues across the charts. during wednesday and into thursday, friday and saturday and also sunday, we have the milder air across the uk. what has been happening this morning is we have had a weather front pushing steadily southwards with a wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow. most of the snow in the hills. we also have further snow showers coming in across the north of scotland and also across central parts of the country, we are prone to that wintry mix meaning a mix of rain, sleet, snow and also some hail. don't be surprised if you hear the odd rumble of thunder. most of the snow is going to be on the hills, some of the heavy

showers, we could see it getting down to some lower levels but we are not expecting huge amounts. a lot of dry weather in between the showers with a fair bit of sunshine around as well. as i mentioned feeling cold wherever you are. with the wind, brisk wind, across the far north—east of scotland, that will really accentuate the cold feel. as we head on through the evening and overnight, this collection of wintriness tends to sink southwards as a weakening feature. there will be further wintry showers coming in across the north of scotland, some mist and fog patches likely, across the midlands for example, and it's going to be cold night. we could see temperatures fall away to —10 or —11. the risk of ice tomorrow morning and widespread frost. a lot of sunshine to start the day before the cloud rocks and from the west and the rain comes in, preceded by some hill snow across wales, north—west england, and also western parts of scotland. although in western scotland, we could see it at lower

levels for a time. still cold for most but milder air starting to come in behind. behind this front, actually, the whole clutch of fronts are moving northwards and also eastwards and one look at those isobars tells you it's going to be windy. there goes the rain, pushing northwards and eastwards, this is the cold front coming in behind producing some showery rain. there will be a lot of cloud, quite a brisk wind on thursday but look at temperatures, in double figures for many of us still in the colder air across the far north of scotland. into the weekend it remains unsettled, wet at times and windy but mild.

this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley and these are the latest headlines: at 22 year woman has been jailed for 8.5 years after claiming she was traffic, beaten and groomed by asian men in the north of england. china warns of "error and danger" after the us, uk and australia sign a pact on nuclear—powered submarines. shares fall on asian markets as investors become nervous over the sudden collapse of two us banks. job vacancies in the uk fall for the eighth time in a row, according to latest figures published ahead of wednesday's budget when the government is expected to encourage people back into work.

a report says police in england and wales are not acting on complaints of violence against women by officers or staff. a state of emergency has been declared in malawi, after tropical storm freddy struck the country for a second time, killing nearly 100 people. the british government has defended the agreements to... china has denounced a defence pact by the us, britain and australia that will provide australia with

nuclear—powered attack submarines. china said that three countries were on a path of danger. here's the chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, wang wenbin, speaking at the daily press briefing. translation: china has repeatedly stressed that the aukus pact - and the three countries advancing cooperation on nuclear submarines and other cutting edge military technology is typical cold war mentality, it will only spur an arms race and undermine the international nonproliferation regime and harm regional peace and stability. peace—loving countries have expressed serious concern and opposition. the latest joint statement from the three countries shows that in pursuit of geopolitical selfish interests the three countries can disregard the international community's concerns, and they are travelling further down a dangerous and wrong path.

our china correspondent stephen mcdonell was at that press conference. i've just come from that press conference and indeed they were tough words from china's foreign ministry spokesperson, wang wenbin. he said that it wasn't only china that was opposed to this pact, that it was other countries, that these three governments had ignored the concerns of the international community, that they were going to harm international stability, fuel an international arms race. also, he accused these three countries of, by supplying weapons grade material to australia, a non—nuclear state, being in breach of international anti—proliferation agreements. what's more, he said that the three governments were leaning on the secretariat of the international atomic energy agency to try and get some sort of bogus clearance for this pact to proceed. that's how the chinese government would see it. and finally, he finished by calling on the three governments not

to go ahead with it. he said this should stop right now, that these three governments should honour their international obligations and promote regional stability by stopping this altogether. banking shares fell on asian markets overnight reflecting investors' nervousness after the sudden collapse of two us banks, silicon valley bank and signature bank, over the weekend. japan's nikkei index and hong kong's hang seng both saw falls of about 2%, but the european banks index fell only slightly at the opening, after posting its biggest percentage loss in more than a year yesterday. the boss of silicon valley bank has announced that the bank is conducting "business as usual within the us", and to expect the resumption of cross—border transactions in the coming days. the us government has assured customers that it would guarantee customers savings. earlier i spoke to sirjohn vickers, the former chair of the independent commssion on banking, who called for, and got, more robust regulation in the uk

after the banking crisis in 2008. he says globally there is room for improvement. now, there have been a lot of excellent reforms in the 15 years since the crisis of 2008, the capital standards, ways to resolve banks, those will have helped a lot in recent days with the collapse of svb but those reforms both globally and nationally in my view should have gone considerably further. one of the lessons of these events is that they do need to go further and they certainly should not be rowed back in the other direction as some voices calling for deregulation were seeking. were all of your observations, your proposals, adopted? is there anything particular from your report recommendations the weekend, might well be worth revisiting?

our recommendations were for the uk. we were set up by uk government to write a report and our recommendations were pretty much adopted, particularly the structural reform for banks called ring fencing. we were in a global context, and the global regulatory baseline is absolutely crucial. our view when we did our work a dozen years ago was that that had not gone far enough and that very much remains my view and a perfect example of that goes to the heart of the issue that silicon valley bank got into trouble for, which is that globally, notjust in the uk but globally, the regulatory risk deemed to be associated with holding government bonds is precisely zero for the most part. everybody knows it's not zero and what silicon valley bank did was to take a position in us government bonds which of course are safe in the sense

that they will be repaid by interest rates went the wrong way for them and so they lost a tonne of money. that solvency problem precipitated a crisis that has been unfolding before us. we will now talk to our scores —— to correspond it in the north of england about the sentencing of eleanor williams. this was an extraordinary case where our women accused a group of men of asian origin of grooming her and basically prostituting her around the north west of england.— west of england. yes, eleanor williams was _ west of england. yes, eleanor williams was a _ west of england. yes, eleanor williams was a fantasist. - west of england. yes, eleanor williams was a fantasist. she l west of england. yes, eleanor- williams was a fantasist. she came up williams was a fantasist. she came up with stories and made them up

totally out of your own head, changing her story time and time again over a number of years. it ill started in the town of barrow in furness in cumbria, are very small town in a very rural area. she had a history of problems from earlier life, but when she started going out partying and going to people's houses for parties, she became embroiled in a complete line of deceit that knew no bounds whatsoever. she made stories up, claimed she was raped, claimed she was traffic around europe, claimed she was about to be taken to bangladesh and sold as a sex slave. none of this was true at all. there were no offences, she had never been raped, neverattacked, were no offences, she had never been raped, never attacked, there was no sex ring going on in barrow in

furness at all. it was something she completely made up. even now after the prosecution and a 12 week long trial and being found guilty of the jury trial and being found guilty of the jury she still maintains everything was true, although reams of evidence goes to prove that that was not the case. thejudge has been summing up on sentencing her in the last half an hour. he said that this case goes to the heart of criminaljustice because what she was doing was trying to perverting the course of justice, trying to lie to the authorities. thejudge justice, trying to lie to the authorities. the judge said that it poses a genuine risk of real victims of crime being too afraid to come forward because they don't realise or don't understand that their cases will be treated seriously. she has been sentenced to four years in prison, afterfour years been sentenced to four years in prison, after four years she will be released on licence, but she will be served a restriction order banning herfrom owning any

served a restriction order banning her from owning any equipment connected to the internet for another five years. the other thing that has happened is that the effects on this town, barrow in furness, have been huge. the people who she accused, three of whom tried to kill themselves in the wake of the allegations because they were so serious. restaurants have been attacked. businesses have been closed down. the local newspaper was so boycotted by people who were aghast at what they thought was happening but the newspaper didn't that it went out of business itself. it is had a huge effect on the town. that effect even years after this happened is still being felt. taste happened is still being felt. we will have more throughout the day from that terrible court case, dramatic impact notjust on her life and herfamily, we shouldn't dramatic impact notjust on her life and her family, we shouldn't forget how they must have been affected by these allegations, they were mentioned by the judge during the course of the hearing, because it

was her sister and her partner who had to give evidence against her. you can imagine the extraordinary situation in that case. here in the uk, the conduct of police officers has been under scrutiny after a series of scandals. fresh data in england and wales has revealed less than 1% of officers or police staff — who were accused of violence towards women and girls during a six month period , have so far been fired. our home affairs correspondent, june kelly, reports. with me now is jamie klingler, writer and co—founder of social movement reclaim these streets thank you forjoining me. we need to get better at getting these police officers out, that is what the police are saying.— officers out, that is what the police are saying. officers out, that is what the olice are sa inc. , . ., police are saying. they are bad and there are saying — police are saying. they are bad and there are saying it _ police are saying. they are bad and there are saying it will _ police are saying. they are bad and there are saying it will get - police are saying. they are bad and there are saying it will get worse i there are saying it will get worse before it gets better. the problematic part is that they said this would be a watershed moment and it hasn't been. in two years we have

our first report saying that 1500 officers were accused in six months and less than 1% of those were sacked. they have got officers turning a blind eye, not reporting them, not putting these people to task. we them, not putting these people to task. ~ , :, ., ~ , task. we used to talk in this country about _ task. we used to talk in this country about the _ task. we used to talk in this country about the canteen i task. we used to talk in this - country about the canteen culture, in other words it was an official culture and the kind of individual culture, a kind of lads altogether, almost like an informal network of people that supported people and cover their backs when claims are made against them. the terrible sense that one gets from a report of this kind, not that there was an official sanction of this behaviour, but somehow an inability institute —— institutions need to do very much about it. tt -- institutions need to do very much about it. , ., , ,:, , -- institutions need to do very much aboutit. __ . about it. it is absolutely systemic. the institutions _ about it. it is absolutely systemic. the institutions were _ about it. it is absolutely systemic. the institutions were built - about it. it is absolutely systemic. the institutions were built to - the institutions were built to protect them the women there are

meant to protect and serve. if you had a violent or sexual incident with the police officer and went into reported, there is basically no chance they will get charged. t5 it chance they will get charged. is it ossible chance they will get charged. is it possible that _ chance they will get charged. is it possible that the cases of wayne cousins, for example, convicted of horrendous crimes, murder and rape, violent sexual offences against women, that having exposed that these people had committed these offences, that they had previous and yet they continue to service police officers, that might mean some of that instinctive, he is a police officer so it is not likely to be true, has now gone? tia! officer so it is not likely to be true, has now gone? no! this report was done before _ true, has now gone? no! this report was done before carrick, _ true, has now gone? no! this report was done before carrick, after - true, has now gone? no! this report| was done before carrick, after wayne

cousins. injuly was done before carrick, after wayne cousins. in july 2020 was done before carrick, after wayne cousins. injuly 2020 21 women went in and said she was raped by somebody in the same unit as wayne cousins and he was not taken off service. we are not being served and protected. that is the big problem. the centre for women's justice says that these are the 12 ways to make the streets safer and make police stations devoid of this kind of culture, but the way that the messaging from the top is, we have the acting commissioner of the metropolitan police saying that most rapes were regrettable sex. t was rapes were regrettable sex. i was “ust auoin rapes were regrettable sex. i was just going to _ rapes were regrettable sex. i was just going to ask _ rapes were regrettable sex. i was just going to ask you _ rapes were regrettable sex. i was just going to ask you briefly, - rapes were regrettable sex. i was just going to ask you briefly, do we now have to reconsider, the 42 police forces in england and wales, meaning 42 different chief constables. in london they are three chief constables. are there just too

many chiefs to have an effective system? many chiefs to have an effective s stem? :, :, . ., many chiefs to have an effective 5 stem? :, :, : :, :, system? no, we need to declare what is cross system? no, we need to declare what is gross misconduct. _ system? no, we need to declare what is gross misconduct. if _ system? no, we need to declare what is gross misconduct. if officers - system? no, we need to declare what is gross misconduct. if officers are - is gross misconduct. if officers are found guilty of domestic violence, if they have a history of domestic violence, they must be taken out of service. we want to talk about changing the culture, we need zero tolerance of violence against women in the police. new employment figures showjob vacancies in the uk have fallen for the eighth time in a row. the official figures come a day ahead of wednesday's budget when the uk's chancellor, jeremy hunt, is expected to set out plans to encourage people back into work.

the latest figures are the quarterly figures. the number ofjobs on offer between december and february fell by 51,000 compared with the three months before. the unemployment rate remained at 3.7% — low by international standards. i think a lot of people left the workforce during covid lockdowns, particularly, and thinking about the over 50s who were very concerned about their health and theyjust haven't returned to the workplace. you also have an issue where lots of people may have decided that they were going to remain in full—time education rather than going to the workplace during those covid lockdowns, and you have a situation where there were an awful lot of people trying to access the nhs because they have health issues but adding to that a number of mums who say that childcare is utterly unaffordable and is keeping them from getting a job. what about some of the measures that the chancellor might look

to take in his budget, his financial statement, which is due on wednesday of this week? what would help in that regard? we've had a number of leaks as budgets tend to deliver before we actually get the full details from the chancellor, one of the things that the chancellor is looking to do is to raise the amount of money that people can save into their pension pot before they get taxed punitively, so that should help a number of skilled workers, and particularly thinking about the likes of surgeons and doctors to remain in the nhs for longer. there has also been a lot of talk of the need to maybe change the money purchasing allowance, which means that if you have taken a little bit of your pension as an income then the amount that you can save into your pension pot drops from what is currently £40,000 per year to just £4,000 per year. a lot of people say, what is the point of going back

to work when we can't pad our pension pot a bit more? the first set of stamps bearing the silhouette of king charles alongside popular garden flowers, are being released by royal mail. these will be the first stamps showing the king's profile that will be widely seen by the public. the flowers are said to reflect the fact that the monarch is a "passionate gardener". i'm joined now by david gold, the royal mail director of external affairs. thank you for being so patient while we have waited four of the other stories through the course of the day. i think this is a wonderfully uplifting time to talk about this. tell us about the stamps, the inspiration, and the historical significance of the fact the profile is not the profile we have been used to for the last 60 odd years? tl is to for the last 60 odd years? it is a pleasure _ to for the last 60 odd years? it is a pleasure to _ to for the last 60 odd years? it is a pleasure to be _ to for the last 60 odd years? it is a pleasure to be here. thank you for having _ a pleasure to be here. thank you for having me _ a pleasure to be here. thank you for having me on — a pleasure to be here. thank you for having me on the show. the king as we know_ having me on the show. the king as we know it — having me on the show. the king as we know it is — having me on the show. the king as we know it is a keen gardener,

whether— we know it is a keen gardener, whether in_ we know it is a keen gardener, whether in his garden at highgrove, or indeed _ whether in his garden at highgrove, or indeed as a regular visitor at the chelsea flower show. it seems fitting _ the chelsea flower show. it seems fitting that the first set of stamps that should bear his image to be released — that should bear his image to be released will be of flowers. the ten flowers _ released will be of flowers. the ten flowers that we have chosen will be very popular among the gardeners who have watched this programme, certainly— have watched this programme, certainly i _ have watched this programme, certainly i have looked at the time that we _ certainly i have looked at the time that we have shown and i seem to have _ that we have shown and i seem to have all— that we have shown and i seem to have all but — that we have shown and i seem to have all but two in my garden. this is the _ have all but two in my garden. this is the first— have all but two in my garden. this is the first set of stamps that will bear the — is the first set of stamps that will bear the image of the king rather than the — bear the image of the king rather than the late queen elizabeth. this is something of a change because over the _ is something of a change because over the last 70 years people have grown _ over the last 70 years people have grown used to, many of us have grown up grown used to, many of us have grown up with. _ grown used to, many of us have grown up with. the _ grown used to, many of us have grown up with, the image of the queen on the stamps — up with, the image of the queen on the stamps. this image of the queen is a departure, of course and it is one of— is a departure, of course and it is one of the — is a departure, of course and it is one of the things that we will ensure — one of the things that we will ensure you get used to in the coming years _ ensure you get used to in the coming years we _ ensure you get used to in the coming ears. ~ :, :, ensure you get used to in the coming ears. ~ . ., , ensure you get used to in the coming ears. . . . ., , , ., ensure you get used to in the coming ears. ~ . ., :, , , ., years. we had an opportunity to look at some of the _ years. we had an opportunity to look at some of the close-ups _ years. we had an opportunity to look at some of the close-ups of - years. we had an opportunity to look at some of the close-ups of this - at some of the close—ups of this stamps i do know that thing that

people will have noticed is, hang on a minute, it is on the left and he is looking to the right, rather than the late queen's image was always on the late queen's image was always on the right looking to the left. firstly, nobody should be alarmed! there is no special intent. we always face the monarch into the stamp, if that makes sense, but depending on the design the image may be on the right or the left, so the image has been designed so it can be swapped. 50 it the image has been designed so it can be swapped-— can be swapped. so it is not like the coins were _ can be swapped. so it is not like the coins were by _ can be swapped. so it is not like the coins were by tradition, - can be swapped. so it is not like the coins were by tradition, the | the coins were by tradition, the coins is always flecked? i wondered if it was that, but it is not. tt is if it was that, but it is not. it is not with stamps. _ if it was that, but it is not. it is not with stamps. in _ if it was that, but it is not. it is not with stamps. in coins - if it was that, but it is not. it is not with stamps. in coins there is a convention — not with stamps. in coins there is a convention that the monarch alternates in the way they look. for us the _ alternates in the way they look. for us the important thing is that the monarch— us the important thing is that the monarch is— us the important thing is that the monarch is always looking into the stamp _ monarch is always looking into the stamp that— monarch is always looking into the stamp that away from the stamp. as with all— stamp that away from the stamp. as with all stamps we are delighted

that the — with all stamps we are delighted that the manner personally signed off the _ that the manner personally signed off the stamp designs and so we are delighted _ off the stamp designs and so we are delighted that they will be available for people to put on envelopes from the 24th of march. we are in envelopes from the 24th of march. are in the envelopes from the 24th of march. 9 are in the where people are saying it is more about parcels now than about letters. our way into the dying years to think of stamps? t dying years to think of stamps? i certainly don't think so. if you look— certainly don't think so. if you look at — certainly don't think so. if you look at stamp collecting around the world, _ look at stamp collecting around the world, the — look at stamp collecting around the world, the last figures outsource true that— world, the last figures outsource true that there are tens of millions of people — true that there are tens of millions of people who collect stamps, but let's not _ of people who collect stamps, but let's notjust by the stamps and put them _ let's notjust by the stamps and put them in _ let's notjust by the stamps and put them in a _ let's notjust by the stamps and put them in a drawer or an album, i still— them in a drawer or an album, i stillthink— them in a drawer or an album, i still think there is sheet excitement when a personal letter lands _ excitement when a personal letter lands on _ excitement when a personal letter lands on a — excitement when a personal letter lands on a doormat and i for one always— lands on a doormat and i for one always look— lands on a doormat and i for one always look at the handwriting and try to _ always look at the handwriting and try to work — always look at the handwriting and try to work out eight is from, then look at _ try to work out eight is from, then look at the — try to work out eight is from, then look at the stamp to see which stamp they thought it was most appropriate to send _ they thought it was most appropriate to send to _ they thought it was most appropriate to send to me with. we still deliver billions _ to send to me with. we still deliver billions of— to send to me with. we still deliver billions of letters a year and we are proud — billions of letters a year and we

are proud of the fact we still maintain _ are proud of the fact we still maintain the universal service which means— maintain the universal service which means that — maintain the universal service which means that for one price anywhere in the country— means that for one price anywhere in the country an item can be sent and it still— the country an item can be sent and it still represents some of the best value _ it still represents some of the best value for— it still represents some of the best value for money in the whole of europe — value for money in the whole of europe for— value for money in the whole of europe for our stamps. i really hope that people — europe for our stamps. i really hope that people don't think that the age of letters— that people don't think that the age of letters is over. i know that the king _ of letters is over. i know that the king is— of letters is over. i know that the king is a — of letters is over. i know that the king is a keen letter writer himself _ king is a keen letter writer himself. :, , :, ., ~ :, :, himself. lovely to talk to. forgive us for living _ himself. lovely to talk to. forgive us for living up — himself. lovely to talk to. forgive us for living up there. _ himself. lovely to talk to. forgive us for living up there. thank - himself. lovely to talk to. forgive us for living up there. thank you i himself. lovely to talk to. forgive | us for living up there. thank you so much. a state of emergency�*s been declared in malawi after tropical storm freddy struck the country for a second time, killing more than a hundred people. rescue workers describe being completely overwhelmed by the rainfall and mudslides. the cyclone's one of the longest running in history and has caused havoc across parts of southern africa. police in pakistan have used tear gas and water to disperse crowds

outside the home of imran khan. imran khan is facing allegations that he indirectly declared gifts from foreign leaders while he was in office. he says the case is politically motivated. pakistan has been facing a political crisis with mr kan leaving several rallies calling for an early general election. groups have called for compromise on both sides... groups representing hospitals and other nhs trusts have called for compromise from both sides to end the pay dispute betweenjunior doctors and the government. thousands of medics have walked out again this morning in a second day of strikes across england. our health reporter jim reed has more. chanting. from manchester to lincoln to brighton, thousands ofjunior doctors will continue their 72—hour strike today in a dispute over pay and working conditions. the scale of the disruption

is likely to be significant. junior doctors make up around a quarter of all gps and half of all hospital doctors in england. carrie, a former intensive care nurse, said she had an operation to test for cancer delayed because of the strikes. the impact is huge. i never realised how big it was. my first cancer was diagnosed about six, seven years ago, and that waiting time is very, very hard. and i don't think until you've been through it you can actually understand it. i always thought i was a pretty compassionate nurse, but until i went through that myself, i didn't realise the complete ups and downs and highs and lows that you feel while you're waiting for that diagnosis, and the optimism when you think it might be ok compared to then the crash when you suddenly think it might not be. and to have that now delayed for yet another... hopefully not for too long, but having geared up for today to have it be delayed again, it has been a difficult few days, for sure. groups representing hospitals

and other nhs trusts said they are working hard to minimise disruption and have called for compromise from both sides to end the dispute. nhs leaders need to see a resolution to the disruption that's being caused by this industrial action, and would call upon both the government and the trade unions to get together, sit down and have proper conversations that can lead to a resolution. what do we want? the doctors' union has been asking for a 35% pay increase to make up for below—inflation wage rises over the last 15 years. the government called that demand unaffordable, but said it was open to talks about a new pay deal for this year and next if the union called off the strikes. jim reed, bbc news.

viewers hello, again. it is a colder day today for most of us compared to the temperatures we had yesterday. you can see that with the blues across the charts. we will get the milder air across the uk later in the week. this morning we have had a weather front pushing steadily southwards with the wintry mix of rain, sleet and snow. most of the snow on the hills. we have further snow showers coming on across the north of scotland and also across central parts of the country. we are prone to a wintry mix. don't be surprised if you hear the odd rumble of thunder. most of the snow will be on

the hills, but in some of the heavier showers they could get down to lower levels, but we are not expecting huge amounts of it. a lot of dry weather in between the showers with a fair bit of sunshine. as i mentioned, feeling cold wherever you are. with the brisk wind across the far north—east of scotland, that will really accentuate the cold feel. through this evening and overnight this clutch of winteriness tends to sink southwards as a weakening feature. there will be further wintry showers in the north—east of scotland, some mist and fog patches like the across the midlands and it will be a cold night. in such a glance we could see temperatures following a 10—10 or 11. so, the risk of ice tomorrow morning. a lot of some time to start the day before the cloud drops in the day before the cloud drops in the rent comes in. preceded by some hill snow. the rent comes in. preceded by some hillsnow. in the rent comes in. preceded by some hill snow. in western scotland we could see it at lower levels for a

time. still cold for most but milder errors starting to come in behind this front. a whole clutch of french are moving northwards and eastwards. looking at the isobars, you can see it will be windy. there goes the rain pushing northwards and eastwards. this is the government coming in behind producing rain. there will be a lot of cloud around, a brisk wind on thursday, as well. a look at the temperatures come in double figures for many of us. into the weekend, it remains unsettled, wet at times, windy, but mild.

today at1:00... the chancellor is expected to use tomorrow's budget to increase the amount people can have in their pension pots before paying extra tax. it is thought the figure will increase to £1.8 million over a lifetime, up from just over £1 million. there are questions about who this will benefit. the changes to pensions, they should help a number of people who were perhaps weighing up what they wanted to do in terms of staying in work or capping what they were paying into their pensions, but they are not the only group that needed to be supported, and the budget needs to look at this in the round. we will be looking at the challenges facing the chancellor in tomorrow's budget. also, eleanor williams is jailed for eight and harvey years at

preston crown court after falsely