the number of our members that rejected the government's pay offer is 191,319. the strike ballot result announced this morning means there'll be one—day strikes at the end of april and beginning of may. we obviously need the government to listen, and unfortunately, if they come back with a derisory offer like that, we still need to stand up and be counted. i am hoping there'll be a lot more than that, if we have to have more than that, because i'm absolutely willing to fight this to the end. meanwhile, passport office workers begin five weeks of strike action. a warning it could mean delays in getting new passports.

our other main news this lunchtime... intense security as the man convicted of murdering liverpool schoolgirl olivia pratt korbel arrives at court for sentencing. a 26—year—old woman is detained after the killing of a military blogger who supported russia's war in ukraine. and remembering mobile phones the size of bricks — it's 50 years today since the first call was made on one. coming up on the bbc news channel: sacking season in full flow. chesley and leicester's search for a new manager and way after saying goodbye to brendan rodgers and graham potter. good afternoon and welcome

to the bbc news at one. schools in england are facing more strike action after members of britain's biggest teaching union overwhelmingly rejected a government pay offer. 98% of national education union members who voted turned down a one—off thousand—pound payment on top of a wage rise. the union's leaders described the offer as "insulting", while the government called it "fair and reasonable". there'll now be two more days of strike action on april 27th and may 2nd. our education editor, branwenjeffreys, reports from the union's conference in harrogate. arriving this morning at the union conference, teachers came to hear an update on their pay dispute. the number of our members that rejected the government's pay offer is 191,319. that union leaders: the government to return to negotiations, but they

also confirmed two more strike days. —— called on the government. we also confirmed two more strike days. -- called on the government.- -- called on the government. we are callin: -- called on the government. we are calling further— -- called on the government. we are calling further strike _ -- called on the government. we are calling further strike action _ -- called on the government. we are calling further strike action on - -- called on the government. we are calling further strike action on the . calling further strike action on the 27th of— calling further strike action on the 27th of april and the 2nd of may. we want — 27th of april and the 2nd of may. we want to tell parents we do not want to take strike action and we do not want to cause disruption to exam preparation. so we will be asking districts to make local arrangements for year 11 and year 13 pupil so that they will be in school, being supported to prepare for their exams. —— year 13 pupils. this is exams. -- year 13 pupils. this is the offer — exams. -- year 13 pupils. this is the offer that _ exams. -- year 13 pupils. this is the offer that has _ exams. -- year 13 pupils. this is the offer that has been - exams. -- year13 pupils. this isj the offer that has been rejected. a £1000 one—off payment on top 5% this year. 4.3% for most teachers next year, plus a £30,000 starting salary for new teachers being introduced. the strength of feeling here is obvious, even though this means more disruption for pupils. the profession _ disruption for pupils. the profession itself - disruption for pupils. the profession itself is - disruption for pupils. tue: profession itself is furious. we are very, very angry at the offer. it

we are very, very angry at the offer. , . , we are very, very angry at the offer. , ., , ., , offer. it is an insult to us. we really _ offer. it is an insult to us. we really struggle - offer. it is an insult to us. we really struggle to - offer. it is an insult to us. we really struggle to get | offer. it is an insult to us. - we really struggle to get science teachers. — we really struggle to get science teachers, because people don't want to do the _ teachers, because people don't want to do the job any more, because unfortunately, the amount of stress and workload for the level of pay they are — and workload for the level of pay they are getting, we struggle to recruit an — they are getting, we struggle to recruit an education. nobody takes strike action lightly. we are _ nobody takes strike action lightly. we are doing _ nobody takes strike action lightly. we are doing this— nobody takes strike action lightly. we are doing this for— nobody takes strike action lightly. we are doing this for the - nobody takes strike action lightly. we are doing this for the good - nobody takes strike action lightly. we are doing this for the good of. we are doing this for the good of our children— we are doing this for the good of our children in— we are doing this for the good of our children in the _ we are doing this for the good of our children in the long - we are doing this for the good of our children in the long term. . our children in the long term. at the — our children in the long term. at the heart— our children in the long term. at the heart of— our children in the long term. at the heart of this _ our children in the long term. at the heart of this is - our children in the long term. at the heart of this is the - our children in the long term. i at the heart of this is the debate over school funding. £2.3 billion extra cash is going to schools in the next two years, and half a billion more next year to help towards pay. but there are other significant pressures too.- significant pressures too. energy bills, significant pressures too. energy mus, inflation, _ significant pressures too. energy bills, inflation, inflation- significant pressures too. energy bills, inflation, inflation on - significant pressures too. energyj bills, inflation, inflation on food, you know, just the general cost, the increase, just as for everybody else. the prices have gone up incredibly high for schools. this work is incredibly important... with— this work is incredibly important... with no_ this work is incredibly important... with no settlement on pay, uncertainty and disruption lie ahead. today, the prime minister said the rejected offer was fair. in spite of all that, it is a very

reasonable offer and pay, and the union has rejected that, and announce new strike dates, which will be enormously damaging to our children, who have already suffered. their education has already suffered as a result of covid, and in the run—up to exams, they will hear about new strike dates in the face of what is a very reasonable offer. i'm very disappointed it has come to this, they— i'm very disappointed it has come to this, they know many parents will be worried _ this, they know many parents will be worried about upcoming strikes. i want _ worried about upcoming strikes. i want to— worried about upcoming strikes. i want to see everybody getting around the table _ want to see everybody getting around the table and resolving these issues, — the table and resolving these issues, and the sooner the better. there _ issues, and the sooner the better. there are — issues, and the sooner the better. there are three weeks before the next strike, but no immediate prospect of further talks. the pay review body for teachers will now consider next year. and branwen is in harrogate where that conference is taking place. pupils and parents will probably be wondering how long this dispute could go on? well, we have those two very definite dates for the summer term, and during the summer term, mandate for the union runs out, so it would

have to re—ballot to hold further strike action in the autumn. and there is every indication that if no progress is made, if there are no further talks, then the national education union is willing to do that, and other education unions are also currently considering the offer, and we have yet to hear what they want to do, but it is possible that at least one of them could also ballot for strike action. however, the government has said this is the best offer and it can make within the current public finances. it is trying to balance fairness for teachers with the overall need to control inflation. and it argues that the offer it has made is fair and reasonable. that is not a point of view which has been accepted by union members here today. thank you very much, bronwen jefferies, our education editor. meanwhile, more than 1,000 passport workers have started five weeks of industrial action over pay, pensions and job security. members of the pcs union

are striking until 5th may, with warnings of delays to new passports in the run up to the summer holidays. the home office says there's been a rise in the number of applications, but it has no plans to change the current guidance of a 10—week wait for a new passport. our employment correspondent zoe conway has more. this is what a day at the office is going to look like for the next five weeks for more than 1000 passport office staff. they are on strike six days a week until may. their union, the pcs, has set up a multi—million pound strike fund, and it will be paying them a wage. 1900 civil servants are directly involved in issuing passports. the union says more than 1500 of them will go on strike. the union says there needs to be a dramatic improvement on last

year's 2—3% pay rise and an increase this year that matches inflation. we don't want there to be any disruption whatsoever. what would have been idealfor us would have been if there was some form of negotiation before things got to this point, and we had been given an offer that our members felt was acceptable. offer that our members felt was acceptable-— acceptable. this is normally the busiest time _ acceptable. this is normally the busiest time of _ acceptable. this is normally the busiest time of year _ acceptable. this is normally the busiest time of year for - acceptable. this is normally the busiest time of year for the - busiest time of year for the service. it's when people apply to get their passports renewed in time for the holiday season. i send my passport off by a post, and i'm _ i send my passport off by a post, and i'm needing to go to spain, my husband_ and i'm needing to go to spain, my husband a— and i'm needing to go to spain, my husband a spanish and my children this no_ husband a spanish and my children this no one — husband a spanish and my children this no one are half spanish, but we were _ this no one are half spanish, but we were meant— this no one are half spanish, but we were meant to be going back to see his family— were meant to be going back to see his family in — were meant to be going back to see his family in the uk in two weeks. i'm his family in the uk in two weeks. i'rn crossing — his family in the uk in two weeks. i'm crossing my fingers that my passport— i'm crossing my fingers that my passport will be back in time so we will he _ passport will be back in time so we will be able — passport will be back in time so we will be able tojoin them. a home _ will be able tojoin them. a home office spokesperson said... civil servants have struggled to get the same level of attention for

their dispute as health workers and teaching staff. so far, there have been no negotiations with the government about pay. gerry conway, bbc news. officials at the port of dover say the delays faced by thousands of holidaymakers trying to cross the channel this weekend have cleared and a critical incident has been stood down. officials offered an apology and thanked people for their patience after some passengers reported waiting for more than 2a hours. a full review into what happened will now be carried out. a man will be sentenced today for the murder of nine—year—old liverpool schoolgirl olivia pratt—korbel. thomas cashman, who's 3a, was found guilty last week of killing olivia last august. cashman shot her dead and wounded her mother as he chased a convicted drug dealer into their home. our north of england correspondentjudith moritz is at manchester crown court. what are we expecting to happen this afternoon?

well, this will be the sentencing of thomas cashman, as you say, found guilty last week, and you will remember, this case horrified the nation when it happened last year, the murder of a nine—year—old child in her own home, behind the front door of her own home, where she absolutely should have been safest. it horrified everybody, and then, during this trial, we have heard the detail of how that came to happen, which has laid it out so starkly. that has been very traumatic for all of those hearing it. we have heard about the fact that this only happened because tommy cashman was chasing another drugs dealer through the streets of liverpool and they saw the light from the open door of olivia's house. the door had been opened by her mother who wanted to know what the commotion was outside. they charged towards it, and olivia was terrified, and having heard gunfire outside, came out of bed and down stairs, and was caught by a

bullet. we have listened over several weeks to the background to one of this. it has laid bare the story of drugs and guns around the streets of olivia's home. we expect sentencing here to get under way just after two o'clock. if you want, you will be able to watch it streamed live on the bbc news channel, and thejudge's streamed live on the bbc news channel, and the judge's comments will be broadcast. olivia's family arrived a while ago. they have been dignified throughout all of this and we expect they might speak outside of court. thank you very much, judith. and tonight, the panorama programme will look at organised crime in liverpool in the drug wars that killed olivia, on bbc one tonight at 8pm and on iplayer. the prime minister is setting out plans for a new police task force to tackle grooming gangs. specialist officers would be sent to help local police forces with their investigations as part of a drive to crack down on child sexual exploitation. labour says the idea doesn't go far enough while the liberal democrats

want rishi sunak to focus on the backlog of cases in the courts. our home affairs correspondent tom symonds reports. carefully choreographed newspaper articles yesterday, and today a visit to the people who answered calls from children desperate for help. the prime minister and home secretary want local election voters to know they are tackling child abuse, specifically what they call grooming gangs. we have had several independent inquiries look at the incidents here in rochdale but in rotherham and telford, and what's clear is when victims and other whistle—blowers came forward, their claims were often ignored by social workers, local politicians or even the police, and the reason they were ignored was due to cultural sensitivity and political correctness. a new national task force will support police with the type of crime they have struggled to deal with. it's a problem captured

by drama as well as news. children often from troubled backgrounds enticed into adult worlds and sexually abused by gangs of men, a tactic now well understood. the home secretary said it was abuse by gangs overwhelmingly made up of british pakistani males. the home office clarified she was talking about three cases in rochdale, rotherham and telford, because last year, a public inquiry found police have a startling lack of ethnic information. they don't know how many of the children they have recorded as being exploited in some way are actually being sexually exploited. they don't know the ethnicity of the people that might be exploiting them. the government wants better data but has been accused of focusing too much on race. ethnicity is important and nothing should get in the way of investigating, prosecuting child sexual exploitation. but if you look at the overall figure, that is a relatively small element of it. that doesn't mean it's not to be dealt with, don't get me wrong,

but if we are not clear about the full picture, then we won't have a proper response. and this from the charity visited this morning. it's really important that - by raising an issue such as race, we don't create other blindspots, because for sure there are many, many predators who prey on vulnerable children i who are from a range i of cultural backgrounds. they need to bring forward and conclude the online harm bill to tackle all the online grooming that happens, but also sort out the enormous backlogs that we have in the courts, so that when people are caught that they can really be brought tojustice. the government has backed the main recommendation of the child abuse public inquiry, making it illegal not to report evidence of abuse. though it wants to hold a further consultation. tom symonds, bbc news. the nato military alliance has confirmed that finland

willjoin the group as its 31st member tomorrow. our defence correspondent jonathan bealejoins me. this is a pretty big moment for nato? yes, great historic day. the chief of nato, jens stoltenberg, said that this morning, the flag of finland willjoin the other 30 countries raised at nato headquarters tomorrow. i think insignificance terms, let's remember that finland has one of the biggest borders with russia. —— in terms of significance. that is another 800 mile border with russia from a nato country, which doubles the size of nato countries bordering russia, and it is exactly what president putin did not want. he said he wanted less nato before the war in ukraine, and what he's got is more nato. it's important also because finland is a country with a modern armed forces. did not significantly cut defence spending. for example, it is buying more than 60 of these latest f35 stealth jets.

it is investing in defence and will meet the 2% of gdp spent on defence. the one problem, of course, for nato, is that they wanted both finland and sweden tojoin, so whereas the turkish parliament last month, the last obstacle, approved finland's membership, it has not done so for sweden, so they are still waiting for sweden. jens stoltenberg says he is still confident sweden willjoin the alliance champion. thank you, jonathan. russian investigators have detained a 26—year—old woman after the murder of a military blogger who strongly supported russia's war in ukraine. vladlen tatarsky died in an explosion at a cafe in the city of st petersburg. he'd been given a statuette just before the blast and there's speculation an explosive device could have been hidden inside. our moscow reporter

will vernon has the latest. a lot of mystery surrounding this case, what is the latest?- case, what is the latest? that's riaht, case, what is the latest? that's right. quite _ case, what is the latest? that's right. quite a — case, what is the latest? that's right, quite a lot _ case, what is the latest? that's right, quite a lot of _ case, what is the latest? that's right, quite a lot of updates - case, what is the latest? that's i right, quite a lot of updates from here today. we know so far that darya trepova, 26—year—old woman from saint petersburg, was detained by russian authorities today in connection, on suspicion of involvement in yesterday's's explosion. this is the blast as you said that killed vladlen tatarsky, a well—known pro—kremlin military blogger. reports indicate that shortly before the blast, vladlen tatarsky was handed a statuette and possibly the explosives were hidden in that. we don't know to what extent darya trepova is considered a suspect. russian police have released a video in which she appears to admit that she took the statuette to the cafe although the bbc cannot be sure she wasn't under duress when she made those comments.

we have heard from the russian national anti—terrorism committee. they said that ukrainian intelligence agencies planned this attack, that is something kyiv has denied, and that also people were involved, linked to alexei navalny, the russian opposition leader, quite a strange claim. so i think this will worry many ordinary russians who will see this as the latest in a string of incidents in russia, explosions, drone attacks, that kind of thing. many will be left with the impression that the war is getting closer and closer to their homes. will vernon, thank you. more strikes in schools in england after teachers overwhelmingly reject the government's pay offer. coming up: fear of reprisals by loan sharks is stopping many vulnerable people for asking for help, according to a new report. coming up on the bbc news channel...

a new nationwide policy introduced in german amateur football allows transgender and non—binary players to choose if they play in men's or women's teams. bbc sport travelled to berlin to see the policy inaction. a new trial run by the football association says grassroots referees feel "more confident" and "safer" if they wear bodycams during matches. it comes after hundreds of amateur referees in england told the bbc they feared for their safety on the pitch. around 100 refs have used the bodycam equipment since the trial began in february. jane dougall has been to see how it's working. afternoon, lads. so obviously, i've got the body camera on today. so what will happen if i need to switch this camera on, i will announce i'm activating the camera. in the first of its kind in the world, sophie wood is one of 100 grassroots referees taking part in a bodycam technology trial. the aim is to see if they can

improve the behaviour of players and coaches. it means that i've got that safety net there. if anything was to cross that line for me, i'm able to switch the camera on. it captures, it starts recording from that moment, it also captures the 30 seconds beforehand, so then context can really be gained around the situation that you've switched it on. many worry that when incidents like this one are broadcast on television, the behaviour can be copied at a grassroots level. the professional game, of course, are very aware of the fact that they are often seen as the example and that people can aspire to the behaviours seen. and, you know, they are working collaboratively with the football association to ensure that actually they are also addressing poor behaviour from the coaches, the players. so hopefully, you know, if we do this united, we'll get some really positive results. in february, a bbc questionnaire found that out of almost 1,000 referees who responded, just under 300 said they'd been physically abused by spectators,

players or managers. one of the four leagues in the country where the trial is being rolled out is middlesbrough, where19—year—old referee ollie cairney has already used the equipment in matches. i'm a player, you're the referee, i come up to talk to you, and you worry that i might start abusing you. if i feel threatened in any way, i'll press that button and then they can actually see the player, their face on the screen. do you think also if the player sees themselves on that screen, that will stop them from shouting or pushing you or anything like that? 100%, yeah. i think they see themselves and they'll probably realise they're in the wrong straight away, and they'll step back from it. and have you actually noticed a difference, then? a little bit, yeah. it's fair enough for them to like, "come on, ref, it shouldn't be a foul against me," but that's about it, really, that's all they'll say. they won't, like, go any further with it, and i think that's partly because of the camera. we can't show bodycam footage from this match

because there weren't any abusive incidents. the fa will track the impact of body cams across the participating leagues, which also include liverpool, worcester and essex. if they see positive results, then it may become the norm for grassroots referees to wear one, and easier to name and shame those who might want to abuse them. jane dougall, bbc news, middlesbrough. residents in a south london block are considering legal action against the housing association peabody after their neighbour lay dead for two and a half years before her body was found, despite their efforts to raise the alarm. harry farley reports. two and a half years after sheila seleoane is thought to have died, police broke down the door of her flat. i've not seen herfor years. inside they found a tidy, clean apartment, and the remains of a woman they could only identify by her dental records.

sheila was deeply isolated. she had no family she was in touch with. no friends turned up to her funeral. neighbours like audrey parole say that for months they had been trying to raise the alarm with their housing association, peabody. for the first, i'd say, year and a half, you couldn't stand in this hallway because just the smell was just... like, nauseous. itjust made you sick. 1a months after sheila died, police did come and do a welfare check here. on that first visit, they didn't enter the flat. and a mistake by a police operator meant peabody was told that sheila had been seen alive and well. the metropolitan police apologised. it would be more than a year later that sheila's body was eventually found. but her neighbours blamed peabody, who they say failed to listen when they raised concerns and missed multiple opportunities to find sheila in the first year after she died.

there was just always this gut feeling that something had happened to her. it was just devastating to know that she was there all along. i don't think peabody actually realise how much it's affected us, and we're still living in that sort of devastation and trauma. i literally face sheila's flat every day i leave my house, i'm reminded of what's happened. and it could have been avoided. peabody said they are trying to move sheila's neighbours, but there is a desperate shortage of social housing in london. in a statement, the organisation said they were devastated by what happened. they accepted that in the first year after sheila died, they didn't do enough and said they had put in new ways of working since sheila was found. they added the case raises important

questions for wider society. harry farley, bbc news. people being targeted by loan sharks are worried about asking for help because they fear reprisals, according to a new report. the centre for socialjustice estimates that more than a million people in england may be in debt to illegal money lenders. emma glasbey reports. it's early morning in bradford. police — open up! supported by police, the illegal money lending team is targeting a suspected loan shark thought to have been intimidating vulnerable people. a man has been arrested and his home is being searched. this type of enforcement is happening every week because loan sharks can leave people terrified. it's not a community service. it is criminals getting rich on the backs of those that can least afford it. and that's what we see time and time again.

we know that illegal lending is going on across all our communities, and we're always concerned in a cost of living issue that this has potential to grow. and certainly in areas where there might be some deprivation, we've seen illegal lenders operating who exploit. this is just one estate where loan sharks have been befriending and then exploiting people struggling with the cost of living. in stradbroke, in sheffield, it's an ongoing problem that's causing misery. we've had illegal moneylenders on the estate for as long as i can remember. it's quite an easy trap to get into. you've got nowhere else to go. so where would you get money from? if you really skint and you need money, you've got no choice. if you're really skint and you need money, you've got no choice. helen is part of the link community hub on this estate, a charity helping with food parcels, counselling and debt advice. things are difficult here. at the moment, poverty is overwhelming. it overwhelms us.

we've never seen poverty levels as extreme as we're seeing at the moment. they're having to cut down on food. they're going without food. they're going without their prescriptions. ilegal moneylenders will know that, won't they? it'll be a fantastic time for them. they couldn't wish for a better time. and as i said, they come on to the estate, they befriend people who haven't got any alternatives than to use them. here, they've seen the misery and anxiety caused by loan sharks, and the fear — a fear that means people are afraid to talk about it. this woman's words are spoken by an actor. i owe him a lot. i get my universal credit and it nearly all goes to him. i have to go and borrow off my family, and they get fed up with me asking. if i don't pay, i'll get a beating off him. but it's my family, i don't want them getting hurt by him. the centre for socialjustice estimates that more than one million people in england are in debt to loan sharks — but they're often reluctant to report them, making investigations that much harder.

emma glasbey, bbc news. 50 years ago today on a street corner in new york, a phone call was made that changed modern life across the planet the first ever call from a mobile phone. our technology editor zoe kleinman has been talking to the man who made that historic call, back in 1973. mobile phones — we love them. the un estimates three quarters of the world's population owns a mobile phone, and there are more mobiles than people in the united kingdom, according to the industry's trade body. this man helped make it all happen. marty cooper was an engineer at motorola. on the 3rd of april, 1973, on a street corner in new york, he made the world's first public mobile phone call. i was on sixth avenue demonstrating this cell phone. i took out my phone book — that gives you an idea

what primitive times these were — and i called my counterpart in the bell system, a fellow named joel. i dialled his number, and amazingly, he answered. and i said, "joel, i'm calling you on this cell phone. but a real cell phone — a personal, hand—held, portable cell phone. " silence on the other end of the line. i think he was gritting his teeth. well, there's some real icons from the mobile phone kind of timeline here. ben wood knows all about the history of mobile phones. he has his own collection. so here we have really a true icon, the motorola dynatech 8000 x, the first truly hand portable mobile phone, conceived in 1973 when the first phone call was made on a prototype of this, launched eventually in 1984. and that device cost about $4,000 at the time, which would be about £9,500 today. £9,000? and it's pretty heavy again.

what's the battery life like, dare i ask? the battery life on that was about 30 minutes. it would take about ten hours to charge. had a standby of around a similar time as well. wow. so what does marty think about the future of phones? we are still at the very beginning of the cell phone revolution. we are going to eliminate poverty because we are becoming more productive because of the cell phone, and ijust mentioned, we're going to eliminate disease. our educational system is going to be revolutionised. i think all of these things are potentials of the cell phone. not doing it by itself, but it will be an essential part of this great future. zoe kleinman, bbc news. let's see what's happening with the weather. the latest forecast from elizabeth, and nice blue skies? yes. elizabeth, and nice blue skies? yes,

a ”oreous elizabeth, and nice blue skies? yes, a gorgeous day _ elizabeth, and nice blue skies? yes, a gorgeous day of — elizabeth, and nice blue skies? yes a gorgeous day of weather outside for the vast majority of us. look at