tonight at 10pm... he's in the fight of his political life. borisjohnson is grilled by mps over lockdown parties in downing street. i swear by almighty god that the evidence i shall give this committee shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me, god. the former prime minister is accused of misleading the commons and contempt of parliament, but he says any incorrect statements were unintentional. i'm here to say to you, hand on heart, that i did not lie to the house when those statements were made. they were made in good faith and on the basis of what i honestly knew and believed at the time. it will be up to the group of mps to decide if that's the case, or if he deliberately or recklessly

made misleading statements. also tonight... rising food prices cause a surprise jump rising food prices cause a surprise jump in inflation. cut interest rates go up again tomorrow? 35 people are injured, some are in hospital, after this ship tips over in a dry dock in edinburgh. ahead of his funeral next week, the search for relatives of one of britain's last world war two veterans, who died alone in his flat in london. and the bbc drama this is going to hurt and the responder lead the way with six nomations each, at this year's bafta tv awards. and coming up on the bbc news channel: chelsea earn a first leg lead against the holders, winning 1—0 at lyon in their champions league quarterfinal.

good evening. former prime minister borisjohnson has been fighting for his political life, questioned for three hours by a committee of mps, investigating whether he lied to parliament about gatherings in downing street during lockdown. they're investigating whether misleading statements, where he denied to the house that covid rules or guidance were broken, were "inadvertent, reckless or intentional". he said, "hand on heart", that he hadn't lied to the commons about the events in number 10, and that he believed at the time the gatherings were necessary for work purposes. he added that, despite ten months of investigations, the committee had no evidence against him. he did however concede that social distancing had been "imperfect". with the latest, here's our

political editor, chris mason. one after another, the revelations came. the evidence stacked up, the defences fell. borisjohnson�*s government stumbled and then collapsed. today is about mr johnson's reputation, but it is bigger than that. public debate is built on truth, something that toppled over under boris johnson. mps are now trying to determine if the former prime minister lied to them. i swear by almighty god that the evidence i shall give before this committee should be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. so help me god. thank you very much. being asked to take the oath is rare, borisjohnson promising to tell the truth about whether he told the truth — and that, as the chair of this inquiry underlined is at the crux of all this. if what ministers tell us is not the truth, we can't do ourjob. our democracy depends upon trust that what ministers tell mps

in the house of commons is the truth. and without that trust, our entire parliamentary democracy is undermined. the prime minister. and look at this — borisjohnson having to look himself in the eye and watch what he had previously said. the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times. i am here to say to you, hand on heart, that i did not lie to the house. when those statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what i honestly knew and believed at the time. and so to his interrogation, the mps testing his arguments. one of his conservative colleagues asked him about this picture of a leaving do for a senior adviser, or what mrjohnson called a farewell event. the guidance does not say you can have a thank you party and it's ok if you think it's very important to thank people.

the guidance doesn't say that. i accept that not everybody is perfectly socially distanced in that picture. but that did not mean to me, when i stood up in the house of commons and said that the guidance was followed completely, i was not thinking of that event and thinking that somehow that contravened the guidance. absolutely not. we were... we were making a huge effort to follow the guidance. what about the get togethers in the downing street garden? would you have advised anyone else in the country, if they'd asked you at one of the press conferences at that time to have a large social gathering in the garden? it was not a large social gathering. it was... it was a gathering intended... and i really must insist on this point. people who say that we were partying in lockdown simply do not know what they are talking about. people who say that that event was a purely social gathering are quite wrong. and then there was borisjohnson�*s birthday do, which led to mrjohnson

and rishi sunak being fined for breaking the law. the pictures show that you attended a gathering in the cabinet room on this date to mark your birthday with at least 17 other people in attendance. now, the attendees included your wife and your interior designer, didn't they? they... they certainly included my wife and son. and, yes, there was a contractor who was working in the building who popped her head round the door very briefly. we've just confirmed that at least two people attended who were not work colleagues. why did you think this was reasonably necessary for work purposes, as required by the rules at the time? i thought it was reasonably necessary for for work purposes because i was standing at my desk surrounded by officials who'd been asked to come and wish me a happy birthday. another committee member contrasted mrjohnson�*s written testimony with what he told mps. you say you don't believe that perfect compliance with social

distancing was required by the guidance. if you believe this, why did you not make it clear when you told the house that the guidance was followed at all times? well, that's a very good question, mr carter. perhaps if if i'd elucidated more clearly what i meant and what i felt and believed about following the guidance, that would have helped. and listen to this — things getting testy about whether borisjohnson was sufficiently curious about what was going on where he lived and worked. the question is, why did you not take proper advice? this is complete nonsense. i mean, complete nonsense. i asked the relevant people. they were senior people. they'd been working very hard. and with that, after nearly three hours, it was over. thank you very much. i've much enjoyed our discussion. laughter. well, i think it's been a useful... i genuinely think it's been a useful discussion. all of this leaves three

questions tonight. do the mps believe him? do you believe him? and what will a day like today mean for how our leaders conduct themselves in future? chris mason, bbc news at westminster. the hearing on partygate was interrupted so that borisjohnson and other mps could vote on part of rishi sunak�*s new brexit deal for northern ireland. the stormont brake, which allows assembly members to object to any new eu legislation applying in northern ireland, was approved by a majority of 486 votes. 22 conservatives voted against it, including mrjohnson and another former prime minister, liz truss. our deputy political editor, vicki young, has more. arguments about brexit often feel like they're going over old ground, and this was no different. for years, politicians have tried to come up with a solution to northern ireland's trading arrangements. today, rishi sunak told

mps his recent deal with brussels was a significant breakthrough. prime minister. mr speaker, the windsor framework represents a good deal for the people and families and businesses of northern ireland. it restores the balance of the belfast good friday agreement and ensures northern ireland's place in our precious union. on the face of it, this was a big win for the prime minister... the ayes to the right, 515. the noes to the left, 29. ..as the commons backed his plan to give politicians in northern ireland a greater say in how new eu laws apply there, the so—called stormont brake. he's convinced some brexiteers... at any time over the last seven years, if we'd been offered this deal as a united kingdom as the way forward, we would've bitten their arms off. ..but not others. this will not work. it cannot work as a brake cos stormont will not meet because of it, and it gives amazing

powers to the european union. a chunk of tory mps, led by these former prime ministers, voted against the plan. one minister, no stranger to brexit rebellion himself, urged borisjohnson to fall into line. he's got a choice. he can be remembered for the great acts of statecraft that he achieved, l or he can risk looking like a pound shop nigel farage. _ for rishi sunak, having two of your predecessors oppose you on such a significant issue could be a worrying sign that they're out to make trouble and destabilise your leadership but, in the end, the government was relieved that more conservative mps didn'tjoin this rebellion. there is, though, another crucial matter that needs to be solved. the northern ireland assembly hasn't been up and running for more than a year. the majority of parties there do back mr sunak�*s deal with the eu, but not the democratic unionist party. now he has to persuade them to return to stormont. vicki young, bbc news, westminster.

let's go to chris mason at westminster. chris, there have been quite a few big days where you are of late. this was yet another one westminster. absolutely. there is an old adage in politics that, if you are explaining, you are losing, and borisjohnson had to do a lot of explaining today about his record in government, is relationship with the truth, all of those issues that were kicked around a year or so ago dredge back—up for all to see. there was a spectacle in that hearing of conservative mps scrutinising a fellow conservative mp while other conservative mps, allies of mr johnson, were heckling the questioner, a reminder of the insurrection, the civil war that was prompted within the conservative party by borisjohnson�*s downfall and the chaos that followed. for the committee, they now have to go away

and work out if mrjohnson recklessly misled parliament or intentionally misled parliament. proving intent, proving he light is always going to be a high bar but recklessness is much more subjective, and they are both labels that boris johnson subjective, and they are both labels that borisjohnson will be desperate to avoid. and it's on this particular day that rishi sunak decided to release his tax detail. not just this tax detail. notjust this particular day tax detail. not just this particular day this afternoon, at the very point that borisjohnson was afternoon, at the very point that boris johnson was facing those questions for weeks, borisjohnson was facing those questions forweeks, rishi borisjohnson was facing those questions for weeks, rishi sunak promised to publish his tax return. it was today, this afternoon that emerged. the details within it are not that surprising. a vastly wealthy man pays a vast amount of tax, nearly half £1 million in tax in one year last year. now, it's not surprising, given the scale of his wealth, but it is eye—catching,

except it's not quite so eye—catching when the ice westminster are tilted elsewhere. it gives you some sense of how awkward number ten find all these questions around the prime minister's wealth they decided to make this publication on of all days. chris mason at westminster, thank you. it was a bit of a shock for the experts, with the cost of living rising unexpectedly last month when many predicted it would fall. food prices were part of the problem, going up at their fastest rate for 45 years. inflation, which measures how quickly prices rise, jumped to 10.4% in the year to february, up from 10.1% the month before. our economics editor, faisal islam reports. inflation on the rise again — a surprise to the markets and to the bank of england. no surprise to anyone actually buying or selling food... chicken legs. free—range bacon here. the fillets and the rib—eyes. oxtail as well, down here. ..such as lucy and alan of a wholesale butcher's in warwickshire. and it isn'tjust food.

last february, we spotted that things were on the rise outside of the core product, which we had seen for about 18 months before that. but it was really those miscellaneous costs around it, the packaging, your transport. we noticed they were going up. i hoped to think we've seen a peak in the packaging costs and things like that, but inflation continues to be very real and very present. the overall rate at which prices rise, the inflation rate, went back up again after being forecast to fall below io%. instead, it's still only a little below its a2—year high. it's still over five times the official target for inflation ofjust 2%. still, it should fall from here as energy prices stabilise and then eventually fall. this is the official forecast from the budget in the orange. you can see it is for now proving a little sticky, the path to halving inflation proving a bumpier ride than forecast. and it's worth comparing with the major g7 economies. it's quite a bit lower elsewhere.

in europe, it's pretty close, but the uk was in february clearly the only one still in double digits, raising reasonable questions about whether the uk has become more inflation prone due to gas dependence or post—brexit barriers to trade and workers. food prices are driving this, so let's break that down, having a peek through a basket of groceries. spreadable butter is up nearly £1 since this time last year. a dozen eggs is now £3.18, up 72p. and tomatoes are averaging £3.15 per kilo, 48p up. even when inflation falls, these prices will still be going up, just by less than we saw over the past year. food prices are on the whole at a new a5—year high for the annual rise of 18%, as you can see over there. part of that is general post—ukraine trend, part is from the specific shortages we saw last month. tonight in the us, its central bank,

the federal reserve, raised interest rates again, but because of the banking fears sparked by the failure of silicon valley bank, played down expectations of going much higher and said the us economy could stall. its chair said us savers were safe, but wanted answers. we know that svb experienced an unprecedentedly rapid and massive bank run, so this is a very large group of connected depositors, a concentrated group of connected depositors, and a very, very fast run, faster than the historical records would suggest. my only interest is that we identify what went wrong here. "how did this happen?" what went wrong? it's rare to hear the world's top central banker talk in those terms. it shows how fragile is the balancing act in the us over interest rates, between bank fears and high inflation. here today, the bank of england said the uk banking system remained safe, though there are fears about broader spill—overs from fragile financial institutions.

the bank faces its own dilemma about stubbornly high inflation and a flat economy, ahead of an expected decision to raise rates itself tomorrow lunchtime. clive. faisal islam, thank you. and if you want more analysis of what inflation means for you, along with useful tips and information, there's a special section on the bbc website called tackling it together. that's at bbc.co.uk/news. 35 people have been injured after a ship tipped over at a dockyard in edinburgh. the petrel is a research vessel which was in dry dock in leith, but ended up listing at a 45 degree angle. a major incident was declared. here's alexandra mackenzie. the dramatic images of the research vessel petrel. it began listing to one side early this morning, finally tipping over on leith�*s imperial dock.

a major emergency response was triggered, as people had been working aboard the ship at the time. this involved the ambulance service, the coastguard and the fire and rescue service. more than 20 people were taken to hospital, mostly in edinburgh and also in fife. due to increased pressure, and nhs lothian urged people to only attend a&e in an emergency. we understand that the petrel became dislodged from its holding on the dry dock. we don't know at this stage how that happened, but an investigation is under way. the 76—metre—long ship is currently owned by the us navy. the us consulate in edinburgh said thoughts were with those affected. tonight, the petrel was still on its side and some of the injured remain in hospital. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, leith.

the man accused of killing nine—year—old olivia pratt korbel in liverpool has told a jury that "he's a dad, not a killer". thomas cashman, who's 34, has been giving evidence for a second day at manchester crown court. he denies shooting olivia at her home last august, insisting he was being blamed for something he didn't do. our north of england correspondent, judith moritz, has sent us this report. thomas cashman describes himself as a high—level drugs dealer, selling cannabis by the kilo and making £5,000 a week. but he says he's not a murderer. last august, when shots were heard on the streets of liverpool, he says he was smoking a joint with friends, and that he is not the gunman who shot nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel dead inside her home. the prosecution say he shot the little girl by mistake whilst he was trying to execute another drugs dealer. thomas cashman spent today giving evidence in his own defence. he said...

in the witness box, thomas cashman became emotional as he denied murdering olivia. he also said it wasn't true that on the night of the shooting, he had gone to the home of a woman he had had an affair with, changed his clothes and confessed. he said the woman, whose name is protected by court order, is trying to ruin his life and wants a reward for the information. thomas cashman accepts that he can be seen on cctv moving around the area both before and after the shooting, but he said it was the typical behaviour of a local lad selling cannabis. the 34—year—old denies murdering olivia and four other offences. he left court amidst high security. he will be back in the witness box again tomorrow morning. judith moritz, bbc news, manchester. the rmt union has suspended rail strikes next week, after further talks with management

in the long—running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. its members at 14 train companies were due to walk out next thursday and saturday, but the union says a proposal�*s been tabled which could lead to a resolution, with more talks expected in the coming days. on monday, maintenance staff and signal workers voted to accept an offerfrom network rail, ending their dispute. a man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was set alight in edgbaston has now been arrested for a similar incident in ealing last month. meanwhile the 70—year—old victim of the edgbaston attack, has been named as mohammed rayaz. he remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital, following a skin graft operation. it's the "stuff of nightmares." that's how scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon, described the forced adoption of thousands of babies, taken from women over a period of three decades up to the 19705. it's estimated that 60,000 unmarried women in scotland were shamed into doing so.

nicola sturgeon has made a deeply emotional and unreserved apology. duncan kennedy first reported on the forced adoptions a decade ago, and here's his latest report. these women have waited 50 years for this day. they're just some of the 60,000 scottish mothers forced to give up their babies for adoption, simply because they weren't married. this is a very big day? this is an enormous day for us, one that i don't think any of us really expected. they came to the scottish parliament for an unprecedented moment, official recognition from scotland's first minister that historic forced adoptions had caused grief, heartbreak and shame. the horror of what happened to these women is almost impossible to comprehend. it is the stuff of nightmares. forced adoptions took place in the three decades after world war ii, when pregnancy out of wedlock was considered shameful.

thousands of the women were coerced into giving up their babies for adoption. in many cases, it was state employees like doctors, nurses and social workers, who put them under pressure. over the past two years, the bbc has highlighted dozens of their stories, revealing the horrors of losing their babies — our reports helping generate the momentum for today's historic moment, with nicola sturgeon becoming only the second world leader to apologise. to the mothers who had their babies taken away from them, to the sons and daughters who were separated from their parents, to the fathers who were denied their rights, and to the families who have lived with the legacy, for the decades of pain that you have suffered, i offer today a sincere, heartfelt and unreserved apology. we are sorry. applause.

for the birth mothers, it was enough to unburden years of guilt. with the speech over, the women emerged, a lifelong feeling of shame now at an end. you got the apology. we've got it. it's been a long haul, and it's great. what are your thoughts? i actually can't believe that's actually happened after the day i sat in the house and you interviewed me the first time. i thought, "this will never happen," and here it's happened and it's wonderful. it's been a long time coming? it's been a long, long time coming, yeah. l they have waited a lifetime for today's lifeline, official confirmation that they did no wrong and should not have been forced to give up the babies they had yearned to keep. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in edinburgh.

the end of a long journey full so many women. the funeral will take place next week of one of the uk's last world war two veterans, who died alone in his flat in london. flight sergeant, peter brown, was born injamaica, and joined the raf in 1943 serving as a radio operator and air gunner on lancaster bombers. he never married and had no children, but it's hoped some surviving relatives may be found who can attend his funeral. here's helena wilkinson. this is peter brown when he was serving as a flight sergeant in the royal air force in 1945. aged 17, it's thought the young jamaican had travelled thousands of miles so he could volunteer to fly and fight in world war ii. after training, he flew as a crewmember in the avro lancaster, britain's famous strategic bomber that was used as the raf�*s main weapon against targets in germany.

in december the air force veteran died alone in his flat in west london. fiercely independent, stubborn as hell, but a wonderful guy, always smiling. he was never miserable. he chatted about his health. he was always complaining about one thing or another, but he kept going. he said, "my knee hurts, but i've got to walk to the shops, got to keep it going." peter brown had no known relatives. now officials are searching forfamily members to attend his funeral. after peter brown came to britain, he trained as a wireless operator and air gunner, and he flew in a lancaster bomber like this one when he served in 65 squadron. he was one of 450 young black men from the caribbean, africa and parts of the uk to fly with the raf during the second world war. they were specialists that became a tightly knit team. everyone�*s survival depended on everyone�*s abilities to do theirjobs.

they were the best and the brightest. they took only the best and the brightest. his job was one of that team. without him, they would not have been able to go forward. it is hoped that anyone related to peter brown or anyone who knew him will get in touch ahead of his funeral next week so he can be given the very best sendoff he deserves. helena wilkinson, bbc news. the nominations have been announced for this year's bafta television awards. the bbc dramas this is going to hurt and the responder lead the way, with six nominations each. the winners will be announced at a ceremony in may. here's lizo mzimba. right, surprise me, what's the management? dark comedy drama this is going to hurt�*s six nominations include best miniseries and best actor for ben whishaw. when people are really unconscious... ..their hands smash into theirfaces. at the other end of the spectrum,

gritty police drama the responder�*s six nominations include best drama series, best actor for martin freeman and best supporting actress for adelayo adedayo. chris, that's not the point. even if i got a charge out of the cps, some magistrate is going to pull a face at me and then send them home with a fine they're never going to pay. and spy drama slow horses, two of its five nominations are for best actor for gary oldman and best supporting actorforjack lowden. are we actually acting on any intel, or are wejust fishing? you don't get to ask questions. so what did you find? any old notebooks? for many ukrainians, - their worst fears became a reality in the early hours, waking up to the news thatj their country was being invaded. the bbc news at ten's coverage of russia's invasion of ukraine has been nominated in the news category and, unsurprisingly, different aspects of her majesty the queen's life are also reflected in the nominations. what's that look? imelda staunton is recognised

for playing her in the crown... i've never seen so many thoughts go on behind someone�*s eyes. ..while the bbc�*s coverage of her platinum party at the palace and her majesty's state funeral have both been nominated. lizo mzimba, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos. thank you, clive. we remain with the unsettled theme for the rest of the week, very windy across western scotland today with widespread gales, tomorrow it is the south of the country, england and wales, sea and blustery weather and heavy rain at times. heavy rain is pushing up across south—western areas into wales, pushing through the midlands at the moment, earlier we had rumbles of thunder, it will trundle eastwards from southern england in toward central scotland. that first rainbow clear over the next few

hours, followed by clearer skies but further showers, hours, followed by clearer skies but furthershowers, longer hours, followed by clearer skies but further showers, longer spells of rain across northern scotland and winteriness over the high ground. some rain in the south could be quite heavy but with the breeze, nowhere will be particularly cold. a bit chillier tonight than the previous night. low pressure into thursday, lots of isobars, it will be windy for england and wales, some sunshine around but also showers to the morning and the cloud builds up across southern england in towards the south—east late in the day, more persistent rain pushing on. wind gusts in excess of 40 mph in exposure across england, wales and northern ireland, very mild to pretty much wherever you are, low to mid—teens. feeling particularly springlike in any sunshine. friday to start sunny, showers get going, becoming widespread, heavy, some thundery with hail, but again it will be blustery and mild,

temperatures into the low teens for most. it is changing into the