but viewers here in the uk be- while but viewers here in the uk be— six o'clock news coming up. for viewers around the world, more coming up. which relate to buying the silence of a former porn star. mr trump denies the charges and claims he's the victim of a political prosecution stop the witchhunt. ever divisive, mr trum - stop the witchhunt. ever divisive, mr trump has _ stop the witchhunt. ever divisive, mr trump has both _ stop the witchhunt. ever divisive, mr trump has both supporters . stop the witchhunt. ever divisive, | mr trump has both supporters and opponents camped outside the courthouse, loudly proclaiming their views. this was the scene right now. mr trump is views. this was the scene right now. mrtrump is due views. this was the scene right now. mr trump is due in court injust overan hour. we

mr trump is due in court injust over an hour. we will be looking at exactly what charges donald trump faces and what the consequences might be for him. also on the programme — a court in swansea finds two—year—old lola james was murdered by her mother's partner, who claimed her injuries were caused by the family dog. a fine of more than £12 million for tiktok for allowing children under 13 on to the site without parental consent. and the illness that affects the brain and nervous system multiple sclerosis is the focus of a radical new medical approach. stay of a radical new medical approach. us with on bbc continuing stay us with on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis in the uk and around the world. good evening.

donald trump is expected to begin his journey to a courthouse in donald trump is expected to begin hisjourney to a courthouse in new york shortly. he will be the first former us president to face criminal prosecution. it's thought he will be accompanied by secret service agents, with hundreds of his supporters and opponents lining the streets outside. mr trump is expected to be fingerprinted and photographed before appearing in the courtroom. the extent of the charges against him will then be revealed. they're expected to relate to a payment made to buy the silence of a porn star shortly before mr trump's election victory in 2016. he denies wrongdoing, and has repeatedly denounced the case as a witch hunt, today calling it "a tragic day for our republic." our north america editor sarah smith is outside the courthouse in new york. sarah. where you can see there are hundreds of demonstrators and almost as many police outside this courthouse, waiting for that moment when for the first time ever, a former us president will appear to be arrested

for a criminal offence. . president will appear to be arrested fora criminal offence. . in the days leading up to this, donald trump has been taking pains to appear defiant, insisting that he is the victim of this, that he is being politically targeted by people who want to stop on becoming president again in 202a. and he comes here to actually go through the process of being arrested and then arraigned, he has to enter a plea to the criminal charges against him, and we will see whether he is able to maintain that defiant stance, and whether he is really able to turn this into a positive political event that he thinks will help propel him into the white house in next year's election. the chaotic circus that surrounds donald trump has landed in lower manhattan. just outside the criminal court, passionate pro—trump trumpers meet die hard donald haters.

we cannot tolerate this injustice in the united states of america. no more. that's one of trump's most loyal members of congress pushing the line that this prosecution is a politically—motivated witch hunt. while his supporters believe will backfire and actually help donald trump win back the white house in 202a. he said, if someone if i shoot - someone on fifth avenue, i would still be president. and i believe that because the more i important issue than that shooting i is saving this country. you can see from all the passion on display here that what we're witnessing is a political event that's going to eclipse any of the legal proceedings that happen inside the courtroom. anti—trump protesters are hoping that whatever happens in this court case, it will derail trump's 2024 bid for the presidency. i'm embarrassed to say that donald trump is from new york also, but i'm here because he's indicted and i'm excited to watch him finally and lock him up. trump did wrong. so should he be in prison? don't they lock up people for doing bad things?

ok, so why should he be excluded? a heavy police presence outside the court is preparing for a moment in history — the first time a former us president has been arrested and charged with a criminal offense. in a last email message sent out to supporters before he came to court, donald trump railed that america is becoming a marxist third world country that criminalises dissent and imprisons its political opposition. attacking the prosecutors may not work as a legal defense strategy, but it is clearly the political line mr trump intends to follow. he will need to summon all his legendary bravado if he's going to maintain that defiant stance all through the court process later today. sarah smith, bbc news, new york. so what exactly are the charges against the former president, and what could be the consequences if he's found guilty? our analysis editor ros atkins is here to explain. ros. donald trump has faced an array of criminal investigations before,

but he's never been charged. that's about to change. the reason why connects to stephanie clifford. she's a former porn star better known as stormy daniels, and she says she and donald trump had an affair in 2006, something he denies. next we fast forward ten years, and trump's then lawyer, michael cohen, becomes part of the story. just before the 2016 presidential election, he paid stormy daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about the affair. now, doing that isn't illegal in america, but after donald trump personally reimbursed michael cohen, the payment was recorded as being for legal fees. prosecutors believe this constitutes falsifying business records, and breaking election laws, too. i should say donald trump denies this, and calls the whole thing a witchhunt.

but what could happen if he were found guilty? well, depending on the charges, a fine is by far the most likely outcome, butjail is possible, but unlikely. and as i tell you all of this, you may be thinking, "can trump still run for president?" well, the answer to that is yes. being charged doesn't change the equation, nor would being convicted, though of course both scenarios may impact his campaign. and he's facing other investigations too. the fbi continues to investigate his handling of classified documents, some of which were retrieved from his offices in florida. there's a justice department investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including the capitol riots, though it's not clear if mr trump is a focus here. and there's also what's happening in georgia. there's a criminal investigation into whether donald trump specifically interfered in the 2020 election result there. so today is a moment

of legal and politicaljeopardy for donald trump, and there may be more of those to come. reeta. ros, thank you. let's go back to new york and to our north america editor sarah smith. the atmosphere where you are is clearly for braille. just how seismic a moment as this? it is enormously _ seismic a moment as this? it is enormously important - seismic a moment as this? it 3 enormously important historically, because as we know, this is the first time the former president has been charged. == first time the former president has been charged-— first time the former president has been charged._ it - first time the former president has been charged._ it will. been charged. -- febrile. it will inevitably _ been charged. -- febrile. it will inevitably have _ been charged. -- febrile. it will inevitably have an _ been charged. -- febrile. it will inevitably have an impact - been charged. -- febrile. it will inevitably have an impact on . been charged. -- febrile. it will| inevitably have an impact on the 2024 campaign, because it is also the first time we have seen a leading candidate running for president involved in a trial like this. as wejust president involved in a trial like this. as we just heard from ros, it is not the only legal difficulty he may face. as we gear up for that crucial 2024 presidential election, we could be seeing the republican nominee, if trump wins that nomination, fighting several battles at the same time as running an

election campaign —— fighting several legal battles at the same time. we have never witnessed anything like that before, so we have no idea what impact this might have no idea what impact this might have on his chances of returning to the white house. we'll hit kill his bid for that? will it boost his bed? it all remains to be seen as we watch this legal process play out and discover what the political ramifications may be.- and discover what the political ramifications may be. many thanks, sarah smith — ramifications may be. many thanks, sarah smith reporting _ ramifications may be. many thanks, sarah smith reporting from - ramifications may be. many thanks, sarah smith reporting from new - ramifications may be. many thanks, i sarah smith reporting from new york. plenty more coverage of donald trump in court from 7.00pm on the bbc news channel, and also on bbc news online. a man has been found guilty of the murder of a two—year—old girl in pembrokeshire. kyle bevan, who's 31, claimed lola james — the daughter of his partner — had fallen down the stairs at home after being pushed by the family dog in 2020. lola's mother, sinead james, was also convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child. this report from our wales correspondent, hywel griffith, contains some distressing details.

a happy, beautiful and busy little girl, lola james' life was cut short by those who should have protected her. behind the walls of the family home in haverfordwest, the two—year—old was brutally attacked in the middle of the night by her mother's boyfriend. kyle bevan left lola with head injuries so severe they'd normally be seen after a car crash. he claimed she'd been pushed down the stairs by their dog. kyle is a coward. he wouldn't tell us the truth to this day. we'll never know why or how it happened, but we certainly know who did it. lola's mother sianjames was asleep when her daughter was attacked, but over the months, she'd ignored injuries her daughter had picked up. james only called for help when it was too late. 0k. — is the patient awake? no, she's not.

she's not awake. 0k. tell me exactly what's happened, then. - she's fallen down the stairs. right. 0k. l from the top of the stairs to the bottom and her head's all swollen. when the police arrived at the home, they found lola had lived in cluttered, chaotic conditions. kyle bevan refused to take any responsibility, maintaining it was all an accident. the only thing i'll be honest i feel partially responsible _ for was the fact that i was making a bowl of cereal at the time. - but to fall in the house couldn't explain lola's traumatic injuries. her body had 101 cuts and bruises. on behalf of daniel thomas, father of lola james... after today's guilty verdict, a statement was read on behalf of her father. even to say your name shatters my heart, to know you can't hear my voice any more.

the only reason i can stand here today is for hope that you can see me, see that you were loved, and that you deserved to live a full, happy, safe life. a review will now look at whether the authorities could have done more to protect lola. bevan and james will be sentenced later this month. hwyel griffith, bbc news. the social media app tiktok has been fined more than £12 million by the information watchdog the ico for failing to protect children's data and privacy. it says up to 1.4 million under 13s in the uk were allowed to sign up to the platform in 2020, even though tiktok bans anyone of that age from creating accounts. our technology editor zoe kleinman has more details. let's just remind you what tiktok is — it's a social media platform owned by a chinese tech company which allows you to watch and share short videos. it's used by over a billion people across the world, and has been downloaded more than 3.5 billion times. the media regulator 0fcom recently

released a children's and parents' online attitudes survey that showed over half of children in the uk aged 3 to 17 used tiktok last year. now tiktok has been fined £12.7m by uk's data watchdog for failing to protect the privacy of children between may 2018 and july 2020. it's one of the largest fines the information commissioner has ever issued, but is still half of what was threatened last year. 0ne campaigner has compared collecting children's data with adults following them around in a playground, writing down everything they do. the information commissioner estimates that tiktok allowed up to 1.4 million uk under 13s to use its platform in 2020, despite its own rules not allowing children that age to create an account, even with their parents' permission. when you create an account, you put in your date of birth yourself, but tiktok says it does catch out those who lie, and it removed 17 million accounts worldwide in the last three months

of last year for those it suspected were too young. in response to the fine, tiktok says it has a team of 40,000 people working on keeping its online community safe, and it is pleased the maximum fine was not imposed. tiktok faces a number of challenges at the moment, including global concerns about its data security and more general fears about social media use and mental health. this new fine is yet another development that keeps it in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. thank you, zoe. providers of social care and charities have criticised the government's decision to hold back half the money it pledged for the development of the sector's workforce in england. in 2021, it promised £500 million over three years to help plug staff shortages, but it hasn't allocated the whole sum, even though many care providers are struggling to recruit staff. ministers insist their reforms will bolster the workforce and say they are considering how best to use the remaining funding. 0ur political correspondent helen catt reports.

what a large amount of money i owe. the social care sector has been feeling a serious financial squeeze in recent years. the government has promised billions more in funding, including investing in the sort of digital technology being embraced in this home in folkestone. but finding staff is a major challenge. staffing is one of the biggest issues in the social care sector, and to provide good outcomes for people needs well—trained staff and staff that really get to know the residents well. changes to immigration rules have allowed him to bring in more workers like emil, who's from india, to fill vacancies he can't cover locally. about half of ernie's care staff now come from abroad. across town, at a different care home, roger also struggles to find staff, particularly for his separate home visiting business. people don't find working in care

appealing any more. they really feel it's a job that's relatively low paid. it's extremely hard work. and the rewards aren't as good as what they could be. to tackle that, the government is putting £250 million into funding hundreds of thousands of training placements and a new care qualification. but it's only half the £500 million it promised to put into the workforce in december 2021. what the government has done today is really say to people who need social care and those that work in the social care sector, "we're not there for you." so there still will be vacancies, which means staff working in social care will be overworked and burnt out. there'll be people whose needs cannot be met by the social care system. why hold back half of the 500 million? we're not taking any money away from social care. all the money that was allocated for social care is going into social care. we made a historic commitment to social care at the autumn statement — up to {7.5 billion going into social care. and today what we're doing is announcing the next steps on our social care reform.

0pposition parties disagree. i think this is a betrayal from the government of older people and those with needs in social care. they promised a lot, and now they're delivering almost nothing. with 165,000 vacancies in our care sector, we do need action the conservatives aren't taking. in fact, they're going backwards. the green party wants to make social care free at the point of use. today's announcement is just one part of the bigger funding picture. the government insists it is still committed to a long term vision for social care. helen catt, bbc news, folkestone. the time is 6:17 pm. our top story this evening. in the last few minutes, donald trump has left for court in new york. he is the first former president ever to silence of a former porn star. higher, mate.—

and the moment eight—year—old cancer patient harry's jaw dropped, as he met his hero everton keeper, jordan pickford. and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. multiple sclerosis can be a devastating illness — and treatments as it progresses have until now been limited. but a ground—breaking trial has begun in which existing drugs are being repurposed for people with progressive ms. the trial is called 0ctopus — because it will examine several drugs at the same time on different volunteers — and is being funded by the ms society to the tune of £13 million. according to the ms society, around 1 in 500 people have multiple sclerosis in the uk. the condition affects the brain and central nervous system, with symptoms including fatigue,

difficulty walking, pain and problems with co—ordination. 0ften diagnosed aged 20 to 40, ms is two to three times more common in women than in men, and is often diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40, although it can develop at any age. 0ur correspondent, caroline wyatt, who's living with ms, has been to meet one of the trial�*s first patients. ailsa geady and her husband rob have been together since university. they married in 2003. by then, they knew that ailsa had ms. at first, her symptoms would come and go — what is known as relapsing remitting ms. the couple went on to have three children, but by last year, her symptoms no longer went away. like me, she now has progressive ms where the damage to nerves gets worse. facing progressive ms feels quite different to relapsing remitting ms. part of that is because of

what medication is available. i know i am not eligible for that because i don't meet the criteria you need to meet. ms is a disease of the brain and central nervous system in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the fatty myelin sheath that normally protects the nerves, like insulation around electric wires. as that protection is gnawed away, the nerves stop being able to send the signals that help us to walk, talk, think clearly or use our hands normally. in multiple sclerosis, particularly progressive multiple sclerosis, there is a limitation in terms of the current treatments available. and what we need to do is get hold of medications that can protect the nervous system and ultimately repair and re—myelinate the nervous system. that is the goal. ailsa is one of the first 400 patients to join the new drugs trial that professor chattaway is leading. it is called 0ctopus, because it has several arms, meaning it can test more than one

drug at a time. that design was first used in cancer, and then the race to find treatment for covid—19. it speeds up how quickly we can test treatments, so we thought it might be fantastic to trial in people with progressive forms of ms, where there hasn't been as much progress. and it enables us to run several treatments at once, but also combine the trial stages, making it a more efficient way of running it and also cheaper. disability gets worse in ms thanks to the degeneration of nerves in the brain. and that happens to all of us as we get older, but in ms, it's happening faster. so the hope is to identify drugs that can help slow that process down. after a brain scan and several other tests, ailsa receives herfirst dose of medication. what she doesn't know is whether she is on a placebo or one of the first two drugs chosen for the octopus trial. i hope that when i am on the trial it will keep me where i am, because that would be fine.

you know, i've got difficulties walking and things like that, but i can cope with those, i can live with it. i don't want it to get any worse. so for ailsa and her husband rob, it is worth taking part if only for the hope that this trial offers. caroline wyatt, bbc news. finland has become the 31st member of nato after a short ceremony at the military alliance's headquarters in brussels this afternoon. nato — or the north atlantic treaty organization — was formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the us, the uk, canada and france. its members agree to help one another if they come under attack. before 1997, membership of the alliance in europe was largely limited to countries in western europe. but since then it has expanded eastwards until it bordered russia. with finland joining today, nato's border with russia has more than doubled.

finland's accession is a setback for president putin, who has repeatedly complained of nato's expansion eastwards. finland applied to join last year after russia's invasion of ukraine — alongside sweden, whose application is still pending. 0ur defence correspondent, jonathan beale, was at the event in brussels. jonathan. how do you assess the significance of this? ~ �* , ., . of this? well, it's worth reflecting that on this _ of this? well, it's worth reflecting that on this day _ of this? well, it's worth reflecting that on this day 74 _ of this? well, it's worth reflecting that on this day 74 years - of this? well, it's worth reflecting that on this day 74 years ago, - of this? well, it's worth reflecting that on this day 74 years ago, the j that on this day 74 years ago, the nato founding treaty was signed and then there were just a dozen members but now there are 31. the finnish flag at the latest to be flying here at nato headquarters. it is strategically significant. remember that for decades, finland was non—aligned, in other words it didn't pick sides but that change with russia's invasion of ukraine. finland also has a border of 800 miles with russia and that is of

course something that nato will have to worry about as well now. but the fact is that president putin went into this war in ukraine saying he wanted less of nato and has ended up with the opposite. the kremlin has reacted angrily and accused nato of escalating or violating its own security concerns and says it will take countermeasures. the reality is that most of russia's military has tied up in an attritional war in ukraine. that war has reshaped european security way beyond the ukrainian border and this is probably the end of nato expansion. as you say, sweden wants to join and there is hope here it will do so in there is hope here it will do so in the coming months. an eight—year—old football fan who's been diagnosed with cancer has been given the chance to meet his footballing hero.

harry garside has had a tough time. he developed a brain tumour and his father died unexpectedly. throughout all this, harry who supports everton, has shown incredible bravery and that's when his mother wrote to his favourite player everton and england goalkeeperjordan pickford. i'm writing to you because you are his inspiration and you are his hero. it all started with a letter from the mum of a young football fan to his hero. eight—year—old harry garside's story is a remarkable one. he fought off sepsis, pneumonia, then had surgery to remove a brain tumour. when a remaining part of the tumour became active again, harry underwent 28 days of radiotherapy, but during that time his father died suddenly, and atjust 40 years old. ijust had to tell him. ijust had to sit down and say, "daddy's gone to heaven." and his reaction was just so sad.

he had a cap on because he used to be conscious of his hair loss, and he just pushed the cap right in front of his face and just cried. harry put his grief on hold to complete his treatment. he was a warrior, and without complaint, he carried on. he was invited to everton's training ground, where he had the surprise of his life. hi, mate? how are you? you 0k? nice to meet you. i'm jordan. you're harry, aren't you? how are you doing? you 0k? it's just a surprise. it's a surprise for you, isn't it? it's ok. so what could top that? well, last night he was a team mascot, and before the match against spurs even delivered a team talk. what did you say? i said, "right mate, you can't be doing any of this. you can't let harry kane score. you got to tackle them,

and then you got to score. harry kane did score, though, but in the dying minutes, everton equalised. so this was little harry's night. it's really great being a mascot and going into the dressing rooms to see all the everton players. it's about enjoying himself and yeah, the reaction itjust shows what we can do to help people put smiles on people's faces, you know? i can't put into words how hard the last couple of days have been for them. and honestly, this hasjust been the biggest treat, absolutely amazing, mind blowing, isn't it? what do you say tojordan? thank you. harry and his family have endured some incredibly tough times, but his smile spoke volumes, as last night, one little boy's dreams came true. john maguire, bbc news at goodison park. let's go back to new york where donald trump has arrived at court.

sarah, what is the scene?- donald trump has arrived at court. sarah, what is the scene? there was a treat sarah, what is the scene? there was a great deal — sarah, what is the scene? there was a great deal of _ sarah, what is the scene? there was a great deal of excitement _ sarah, what is the scene? there was a great deal of excitement here - sarah, what is the scene? there was a great deal of excitement here as l a great deal of excitement here as that convoy of about 15 cars bringing donald trump through to the criminal court arrived and he got out of the car and defiantly waved to his supporters as he went to the court room. you would think he was arriving at a campaign visit but as soon as he entered the building he was officially under the rest —— under arrest and he will be being processed inside and out, fingerprinted and being told what all of the charges against him are. it doesn't have any of the details yet. in less than an hour we will see him appear in the courtroom where he will be asked by the judge to enter a plea to all of charges he has been laid against him and we expect he will plead not guilty but those scenes when we get there will be something to look at, another historic moment in hisjourney towards this criminal trial. historic moment in his journey towards this criminal trial. sarah, many thanrs- _ time for a look

at the weather. here's louise lear. look at this. a golden globe of daffodils. what is not a like of this picture? and in the sunshine it felt pleasantly warm, but i want to talk about the roller—coaster ride we tend to get at this time of year with the overnight minimums. the last couple of days and this is 0xford, a snapshot of the week that the last couple of mornings we've seen temperatures below freezing, quite cold and frosty but with a change of wind direction we will see a change in the middle part of the week and then the temperatures dipping once again. so if you are a gardener and desperate to go out and buy some plants or cut the heads of the winter shrubs, hold off because april can be a cruel month when it comes to those temperatures. let's take a look at what we saw today. glorious blue sky and sunshine for most. quite a lot of cloud pushing in from the far north—west and weather fronts moving on as we speak and they are going to drift and bring outbreaks of rain so the cloud

will continue to gather from the north and under clear skies and the south—east again, a touch of light frost. that is where we will have the best of the sunshine but these weather fronts will continue to bring rain as we go through the day and it will be light and patchy to begin with from the first front but the second front is a little more punch and that will bring some heavy outbreaks of rain so as we go through the afternoon will cloud overin through the afternoon will cloud over in the south—east but an improving picture into northern ireland and western scotland with temperatures sitting at around 13 or 14 degrees. that rain has to clear its way south and east and as it does so we will head towards the all—important easter weekend and high pressure builds again and quieting down and that's why we could see a return to some light overnight frost but not a bad start to the easter weekend, dry, settled and sunny risk of some rain later easter sunday.

you can keep up with all the latest developments on bbc website.