tonight at ten, after a winter of industrial action, hopes of a pay deal for thousands of staff with nhs england. after months of strike action by nurses, ambulance workers and others, the new offer involves a one—off payment and a 5% pay rise. it is a reasonable offer.

it certainly isn't all that we would have asked for. but it is an offer that we can put to our members. health workers say the effects of the strike action could have been avoided had the prime minister and his team responded earlier. this agreement rightly recognises the fantastic work that our nhs workers like nurses, midwives and paramedics do, whilst also being affordable for the taxpayer. we will have more details on the deal which covers all staff in nhs england apart from doctors who are on a different contract. also tonight... in eastern ukraine, a special report on the fighters in the trenches of bakhmut, trying to resist the russian advance. the russians are only 500 metres away. that is automatic fire you can hear. along this line is grenade fire, automatic fire and tank fire.

the social media app tiktok — owned by a chinese company — is to be banned from uk government devices for security reasons. scientists identify a gene variant known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and they trace it to people of orkney islands heritage. and the cast and crew of the oscar—winning "an irish goodbye" celebrate their big win tonight after returning to northern ireland. and coming up on the sport on the bbc news channel. three british clubs in europe in action tonight and will have all the goals, including marcus radford's winner is manchester united but their place in the europa league quarterfinals. manchester united put their place in the europa league quarterfinals. after months of strike action by nhs staff in england,

there's hope that a new pay offer will put an end to the dispute. the staff, who include nurses and ambulance workers, are being presented with a deal negotiated over the past two weeks by trade unions and the government. doctors are not included as they are on a different contract. the government and the nhs staff council — representing nurses, ambulance staff and other nhs workers — have completed negotiations and reached a final offer. the offer is in two parts. first, a one—off payment for this financial year to be paid within weeks, starting with around £1600 for the lowest paid, rising to £3700 for senior managers. and second, a pay rise of 5% for the next financial year, starting in early april. some campaigers point out that the offer is significantly

short of a rise above inflation and in real—terms means a pay cut. but negotiators on both sides say it's the best deal they can produce, and most of the unions are likely to recommend the deal to their members. our health editor, hugh pym, reports on the new nhs pay offer. cheering it was an unprecedented set of strikes in the nhs. what do we want? fair pay! when do we want it? now! the royal college of nursing staging the most extensive action in its history. sirens ambulance unions followed with walk—outs affecting all but the most urgent calls. other unions including the chartered society of physiotherapists also went on strike over pay. it's hot off the press information. and today, a breakthrough after intense talks, the prime minister approving more money for nhs staff. well, today's pay agreement

is fair for nhs workers. we want to make sure that we reward them and recognise the hard work they do, whether that's nurses, paramedics, midwives, but it's also fair for taxpayers, and this was important to us as well. it needs to be affordable. the biggest health unions are ready to recommend the government's offer for england. now members will vote on it. having that pay rise earlier could have been useful in stopping people leaving jobs in the health service for better paid work elsewhere, but people today will at least be glad they have an offer that is worthy of consideration. it is a reasonable offer. it certainly isn't all _ that we would have asked for, but it is enough to put to our members. - before the strikes, nhs staff in england, wales and northern ireland had an average pay award of about 4% for this financial year. in wales, ministers raised that

to 7%, though this has been rejected by some unions. in scotland, a pay offer averaging 7.5% has been accepted by most unions. in northern ireland, no new deal has been proposed. ministers have now added a one—off payment for nhs staff in england for this financial year, and there is a pay offer of 5% for the next year, beginning in april. a spokesperson said the treasury and department of health would work out the required funding. it began with strikes called by the royal college of nursing followed by other health unions. now it's got to the point of a pay offer to be put to members. ministers had said before there was no more money available for this financial year, but now that has changed. the strikes have caused disruption — around 140,000 operations and appointments were cancelled. nhs leaders say they are now keen to get on with tackling the backlog. obviously, this signals the opportunity to do that and to avoid all other disruption that we've seen as a consequence of the industrial action, and,

crucially, a fair deal for staff. chanting: claps don't pay the bills! but the junior doctors are not part of today's agreement. after three days of strike action this week, there is no sign of talks, let alone a deal. hugh pym, bbc news. and it's not the only deal that has been going on, people trying to resolve. joining me now is our employment correspondent zoe conway. what lessons do you think might be learned from the package put forward today? learned from the package put forward toda ? , ., ., .., today? this health agreement could act as something _ today? this health agreement could act as something of _ today? this health agreement could act as something of a _ today? this health agreement could act as something of a template - today? this health agreement could act as something of a template for. act as something of a template for the other disputes. certainly other unions are looking at it as a kind of template. there are already signs tonight that it could be helping to unlock other disputes. union sources have told me the teaching unions could go into meaningful negotiations about pay with the government very soon. when it comes to another dispute, the civil

service, they have struggled to get the same level of attention and arguably public sympathy as the health workers but what their union, the pcs, would argue, is that they are often very low paid, their members, and they deserve just as good a deal as the health workers. and finally, when it comes to the railways, there are signs there of significant movement over a pay deal for maintenance workers and signalling staff and in the coming days at the rmt union could vote to back that deal. this health agreement has ramifications beyond the nhs dispute. qm. agreement has ramifications beyond the nhs dispute.— the nhs dispute. 0k, many thanks, zoe conway- — the nhs dispute. 0k, many thanks, zoe conway. taking _ the nhs dispute. 0k, many thanks, zoe conway. taking us _ the nhs dispute. 0k, many thanks, zoe conway. taking us through - the nhs dispute. 0k, many thanks, l zoe conway. taking us through some of the possible ramifications of what has been announced today. live to westminster and our political editor, chris mason. to pursue that conversation, obviously deals like today's involve compromise so i'm wondering what is

your reading and where has the main compromise been? i your reading and where has the main compromise been?— your reading and where has the main compromise been? i think the reality of any negotiation _ compromise been? i think the reality of any negotiation is _ compromise been? i think the reality of any negotiation is to _ compromise been? i think the reality of any negotiation is to get _ compromise been? i think the reality of any negotiation is to get to - compromise been? i think the reality of any negotiation is to get to an - of any negotiation is to get to an agreement you have to find a sweet spot and that is where of the sides can claim some sort of victory, where they can argue their course of action was right all along and they were sensible and rational and pragmatic. that is what we are hearing from both sides in this dispute tonight. they are saying that, yes, there has been compromised but where they have got to is a position they can live with, or at least the union leadership most of the unions can live with. it's worth exploring how this will be paid for. a substantial chunk of the 5% offer was already accounted for by the government but not all of it and some of it will have to come from an efficiency review that is going on in all government departments. government insist that will not involve cuts to front line services but precisely what is a front—line service, and there will be some negotiation around that. then there is the ongoing dispute as

far asjunior then there is the ongoing dispute as far as junior doctors then there is the ongoing dispute as far asjunior doctors are then there is the ongoing dispute as far as junior doctors are concerned, exasperation within government about that. one seniorfigure exasperation within government about that. one senior figure suggested to meet their thought there was a decimal point missing when there was talk of a 35% rise, they thought surely it was 3.5% but the doctors say that is that deal with a backlog of intermittent pay as they see it going back years. is a final thought worth underlining, this is union leadership is in most cases are saying this is a deal that could be accepted and it is for the members to decide and we wait for their verdict. , ., , ., verdict. indeed, chris, many thanks auain, verdict. indeed, chris, many thanks again. chris — verdict. indeed, chris, many thanks again, chris mason, _ verdict. indeed, chris, many thanks again, chris mason, our _ verdict. indeed, chris, many thanks again, chris mason, our political - again, chris mason, our political editor with the latest reaction from westminster. let's move on and talk about the latest situation in ukraine. and in the east of the country, the battle for the city of bakhmut is proving to be the longest of the conflict so far, and the stakes are high for both sides. we can take a look and understand why.

that's because bakhmut is a key hub in donetsk province, which is now surrounded by russian troops and hired russian fighters under orders to capture the entire region, one of four which moscow annexed unlawfully last year. ukrainian troops are in trenches, resisting the russian advance, with huge casualties being reported. two ukrainian brigades are defending the city's southern perimeter, and they gave the bbc access to their positions. 0ften often under 0ften underfire. 0ur correspondent quentin sommerville and camera operator darren conway sent this special report. in war�*s uncertain journey, fates are decided in the unlikeliest of places. ukraine has drawn a line in the mud, and that line is bakhmut. no matter the hardship, the enemy must not pass. this ground must be held.

winter has given way to early spring. they hope it might slow russia's advance. translation: the thing is, it complicates the job - for both parties. the enemy has difficulty attacking, because nothing moves in the mud. nothing except tank tracks... ..and army boots. the mud's unreal. it pulls you this way and that way. it's a trap for men, for vehicles. it makes moving around this battlefield almost impossible. and for the soldiers of the 3rd separate assault brigade, it means going the long way round. moving as fast as the territory allows. they're in range of russian guns.

we're told to keep low. stop, stop! there's snipers around here. these trenches are new, but warfare along this front is antiquated. below ground, these are dugouts that their grandfathers would recognise. but by digging in, they've tied up russian forces here and held bakhmut longer than many expected. but it isn'tjust the conditions that are basic. this is a 21st—century war, being fought with i9th—century weaponry. it's a maxim machine—gun. 120 years of history of killing russians. a weapon from the first world war,

used in the third world war. sporadic gunfire. right, we are heading right to the very forward position. we can hear shelling right now and automatic gunfire. more shelling. they get attacked here on a daily basis. translation: there are the enemy positions, so let's move very fast. i 0k. almost every day, some shells from mortar or artillery. we can see the craters all around here. there is a fresh crater, right there. we've got to go, we've got to go. there's hardly any tree cover here, the men are exposed. gunfire. and the russians found them. ok, move, move.

you can go in the car, because there is a little bit of water here. keep down. gunfire. the russians are only 500 metres away. that's automatic fire. all along this line there's grenade fire, automatic gunfire and tank fire. translation: it's really dangerous there, bullets are flying everywhere. that kind of fire is every day here. seven months, more than seven months into this battle, it's created a wasteland. this is the longest battle of the war so far. to the north, and to the east, and here in the south,

russia's been making gains. but it's costing them. the ukrainians say that for every one soldier that they lose, russia loses seven. but still they hold on here. and bakhmut is a town that no—one believes has strategic value. but to russia and ukraine, it matters in this war. translation: this is not| a strategic question for us. we are just ordinary soldiers. but this is our land. if we lose here, then do we retreat to chasiv yar, to sloviansk, then all the way to kyiv? however long it takes, two, four, five years, we have to fight for every piece of ground. so, every tiny step of land needs to be defended, even as they toil under waves of attack from russian prisoners sent by wagner group. translation: we were in combat every two hours. l

as far as i understand, they were wagner. we were fighting them, and without over estimating our achievements, i would say a single company was killing 50 of their men a day. we checked the figures, they are awful numbers. they are outgunned and outnumbered but, for now, unyielding. in bakhmut, like in the rest of this war, they have grown used to the odds being against them. quentin sommerville, bbc news, on the outskirts of bakhmut. sobering insight there. in washington, the pentagon has released a video showing a russian militaryjet coming very close to a us military drone over the black sea yesterday. fuel from the russian jet was dumped from the aircraft and a propeller on the drone was damaged after the incident. russia denies american claims

that its jets acted recklessly. the key measures in yesterday's budget — to encourage people back to work by boosting free childcare and changing the rules on pension savings — may not be cost effective, according to the independent body the institue for fiscal studies. new analysis has also raised concerns that freezing income tax bands will have a big impact on the cost of living for many households. our economics editor, faisal islam, is here with his analysis. a day on from the budget, that historic squeeze on households is mostly driven by a previously announced effective tax rise from the freezing of the thresholds where tax rates start. high inflation drags millions into tax and higher tax brackets. but many benefits are about to go up by a double digit amount to account for the same inflation. the net effect of all the changes this parliament is that average incomes for the poorest fifth will be up by £417 a year

as a result of these measures. but those in the middle have been hit by £738 per year, and the richest fifth are down by over £2,000 a year. most are facing tax rises, driving this multi—decade high in the tax burden. you see it here as a share of the national economy and it is at a 70—year high on some measures. a source of concern for some mps. however, the goverment�*s independent experts, the obr, said this trend is pretty common across the world. taxes are, on average, rising across the eu at the top there and the other g7 richest nations too. and that reflects the fact that governments are doing more, especially since the pandemic. for example, the budget yesterday announced a £3 billion one—off payment for energy bills. £3 billion more on defence spending, and the new childcare package, costing a further £5 billion, described as the beginning of a new branch of the welfare state. so although there is much talk about tax cuts, there is less

about whether the state should do less. those all have to be paid for. i think it's the right thing to do, to get through these difficult periods, but we have to be honest with people. it means that for a while the burden of tax is going to be higher, but conservatives cut taxes when we can. family incomes are going to fall by 6% over the next couple of years, and yet the only permanent tax change that the chancellor announced yesterday was to help the top 1% of people save even more into their pensions. when these things cannot be squared, other spending gets squeezed, and this is quite interesting. while you heard a lot about investing in a high tech future, this is now the path for actual public sector investment which was revealed in the budget. that's spending on buildings, hospitals, schools, roads and rail, down to 2% of the economy.

down on the big promises made in the firstjohnson—sunak budget of the parliament — more like 3% spending for the future. that's happened at a time when the us and europe are increasing such investment. so political pressure to decrease taxes, plenty of other pressures to increase spending, such as an ageing society, but no space within self—imposed limits on debts. it's an ongoing dilemma, whoever is in charge. and if you want more analysis of what the budget means for you, along with useful tips and information, there's a special section on the bbc website called tackling it together. find it at bbc.co.uk/news. many thanks. faisal islam with his analysis of the budget there. tiktok — the social media app used by more than a billion people worldwide — is to be banned from mobile phones and other devices issued to uk government ministers and civil servants. the app is owned by a company registered in beijing and the decision is based on concerns about security

following a review by the national cyber security centre. tiktok has strongly denied allegations that it shares data about its users with the chinese government. our security correspondent gordon corera has more details. it's the video app that's gone from nowhere to everywhere, taking over the world. even mps and the ministry of defence have been using it. but it is now facing new restrictions. so, what's been announced? today, after growing political pressure, the uk government has followed the us, canada and the european union in new restrictions. government officials will no longer be able to download the app onto work devices. we will do so with immediate effect. mr speaker, this is a precautionary move. we know there is already limited use of tiktok across government but it is also good cyber hygiene. so, what are the concerns? one of the reasons tiktok

is so successful is because it is so good at understanding its users. it can collect lots of data about their contacts and location. what's different about tiktok is that it was founded in china. tiktok is collecting a huge amount of data, which is relatively similar to all social media platforms, but i think the problem is who they may be sharing it with. it's not proven who they are sharing it with or if they are, but it's that collection of data that could be sensitive that could cause risks to countries should it be shared with the incorrect people. what does the company say about this? today, tiktok told the bbc that there is no evidence of it having done anything wrong. we're disappointed. we believe this is based, this change of heart is based more on geopolitics than anything else. we ask to be judged not on the fears people have, but on the facts.

should i delete it from my phone, people might ask? the government is not advising the general public to stop using tiktok, just government officials who might have more sensitive information on their phone. there is no sign of a wider ban but the growing controversy over tiktok is a sign of deepening tensions between the west and china. gordon corera, bbc news. in paris tonight, there have been scuffles between thousands of demonstrators and police in the city centre, following a protest against president macron�*s pension reforms. his controversial policies are set to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 without the need for a parliamentary vote. our paris correspondent lucy williamson joins us. tell us more about this. the national _ tell us more about this. the national assembly - tell us more about this. tie: national assembly building behind me has been the scene of fierce opposition today to president macron�*s reforms, heckling of the

prime minister inside and a spontaneous protest outside here. thousands of people gathering resulting in clashes with the police and 120 people arrested, we are told. there is anger over the pension reforms but also anger over the way the government pushed the reforms through bypassing the vote in parliament. opposition parties say they will bring a vote of no confidence next week which is seen as unlikely to work and in some ways the government's real opposition will be in the streets with more protests expected in the weeks to come. . , protests expected in the weeks to come. , ~ ., ., , come. lucy williamson, in paris, thanks for— come. lucy williamson, in paris, thanks forjoining _ come. lucy williamson, in paris, thanks forjoining us. _ scientists in scotland have identified a gene variant which is known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. they have narrowed down the variant to people of orkney islands heritage. more specifically, the gene variant has been traced to the island of westray, with a resident population ofjust under 600 people.

our scotland science and innovation correspondent laura goodwin is there and she joins us now. tonight the community met with geneticist to discuss the identification of this brca variant which they believe is present in one in 100 people with orkney grandparents and it is important to stress that not everyone with the brca variant will go on to develop cancer but it is associated with a higher risk but if you know about it you can be screened at a much earlier stage. the plan in place on is to extend testing for the adult population because men can pass it on their daughters as well —— the plan in westray. but the significance of the findings could be felt far beyond the shores of this island. people have lived here on the island of westray for many thousands of years. in part, the community's deep

connection to their roots have helped scientists solve a 25—year medical puzzle — an increase in family history of breast cancer first noticed by the screening services in orkney. now a team of geneticists have come to the island to communicate their findings face—to—face. over time, a pattern emerged, that we were starting to come across a gene difference in the gene that was, at that point, we were uncertain of the meaning of, but we kept finding it. and i was really suspicious that that gene alteration was important, and it was explaining the pattern of breast and ovarian cancer that we were seeing in those what appeared to be branches of one big family. around one in 1,000 women across the uk have a brca1 variant. the study found one in 100 people with orkney grandparents have this particular variant. the study was able to trace the gene all the way back to the 18th century. this family tree shows known carriers of the gene but also those who were not tested but who researchers believe carried the gene because of their family links.

it also shows who then went on to develop cancer. linda hagan can map her own westray family tree for many generations. i lost my sister four years ago — she was younger than me — to breast cancer. she was younger than me — and an aunt, a well loved aunt, she died when she was 46. so it has affected our family and there are cousins as well who have had breast cancer. although this is news that we don't want to hear, it is important for us to know what is going on, and in the hopes that some maybe further treatment or at least a recognition of what could happen if we carry the gene. karen scott has already been tested for the gene due to herfamily history of breast cancer. she did not have it but hopes other women will be tested. orcadians are all over the world. this is a massive discovery.

and hugely important for the health of every individual in orkney, and the generations to come. there are other communities within the uk that have a known prevalence of brca gene variants but identifying founder mutations like this is rare. women with the same variation have already been found across the uk and america, which means their roots, most likely, lead back to orkney. laura goodwin, bbc news. links to cancer support charities are available online if you search for bbc action line. there is specific information about the orkney gene variant on the macmillan cancer support website. and if you are from orkney and want to find out more about screening you can do so online via nhs grampian. the cast and crew of the oscar winning short film "an irish goodbye" have been

celebrating their big win tonight after arriving back in ireland from los angeles. emma vardy has more. sorry about your mother. set on a farm in rural northern ireland, an irish goodbye tells the story of an estranged family brought back together by loss. i told you, i'm staying down here looking after the farm. i'm not getting stuck here for the rest of my life. mother and you! cheering the big success achieved by this small cast and crew has not only brought pride for northern ireland's film industry but been life changing forjames martin who worked in a belfast starbucks while taking on acting jobs, and celebrated tonight with his father. just to be at home to see my family and friends, it's really good. for us, myself and my co—writer, tom, my co—director, we wanted to create a character that was well—rounded. the film deals with tensions between the brothers over