today at 1pm: a british businessman whose overseas companies were part of a money laundering investigation is revealed to be a major donor to the conservative party. javad marandi has donated more than £750,000. he's not subject to any criminal action and denies any wrongdoing. anti—corruption campaigners say tougher checks are needed on money given to political parties. also on the programme... the number of people out of work due to long term sickness is at a record high, and the unemployment rate goes up. how to get more from the land... british farmers battling soaring costs hold talks with the prime minister. making surfing more environmentally friendly. it is one of the world's

most popular pastimes but it needs a makeover. it's been on a container ship for a month. it's then been driven from a port on a lorry to a distribution point. it's then gone on a van to a shop and it's been used in the seafor a matter of hours before it's ended up as waste. and they are lancaster bombers that launched the famous dambusters raid exactly 80 years ago. and coming up on bbc news: more injury frustration forjofra archer, who's ruled out by england for the summer, butjonny bairstow returns to the test squad to face ireland. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. a top british businessman, whose foreign companies

were at the centre of a global international money laundering investigation, has been revealed as a major donor to the conservative party by the bbc. javad marandi, who has an 0be for business and philanthropy, has donated more than £750,000 to the party. some of his companies were alleged to be involved in a scheme to move money from one of azerbaijan's richest oligarchs out of britain. mr marandi is not subject to any criminal action and denies wrongdoing. anti—corruption campaigners say not enough is being done to check how easily money can reach political parties. dominic casciani has our top story. wealthy and well—connected, this is javad marandi. awarded an 0be for services to business and philanthropy, he's been a major tory donor with access to senior party leaders. one of mr marandi's british companies is the famous design brand, the conran shop. it's not involved in this case, which raised questions about some of his overseas interests.

those questions emerged from a national crime agency investigation into the wealth of a family living here — a multi—million pound apartment near london's regent's park. the head of the family, javanshir feyziyev, is an old associate of mr marandi and one of azerbaijan's richest oligarchs. last year, a court ruled the nca could seize £5 million from the family's uk bank accounts. it had been part of billions that disappeared from azerbaijan in a global money laundering scandal. and paul radu... the azerbaijani laundromat was only discovered because of the work ofjournalists. i believe the azerbaijani laundromat brought a lot of damage on many levels to azerbaijan itself. to the european union, to the us and other parts of the world. small businesses lost a lot of money because of the azerbaijani laundromat. a judge ruled that companies owned byjavad marandi played a key role in moving some

of the cash to london. the case starts with $1.5 billion leaving azerbaijan for shell companies registered in glasgow. tens of millions were moved again to the seychelles, to the avromed company — owned byjavad marandi. ajudge said how the cash moved back to the uk looked like money laundering and that mr marandi was a person of importance in the nca's case. mr marandi's lawyers argued all the money was lawfully earned and transferred, so he should remain anonymous to protect his reputation. the bbc said it was in the public interest to name him and judges agreed in an important ruling about freedom of the media versus privacy. the case also raises political questions. this is a political bombshell. we've learned today that someone who has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to a british political party has, in the words of the judge, been a person of importance in proceedings before

the court about a major money laundering enterprise. and that should be a concern not just people who are worried about where that money came from, but about what it says about how easily money can reach political parties without due — proper checks on its origins. the national crime agency won't say if javad marandi is under investigation. mr marandi says none of his business interests have ever been the subject of investigations into unlawful conduct. dominic, what has been the reaction to all of this? the dominic, what has been the reaction to all of this?— to all of this? the first reaction has been from _ to all of this? the first reaction has been from the _ to all of this? the first reaction| has been from the conservative party. they said this morning that it only accepts donations from permissible sources, basically individuals registered on the uk's electoral roll or uk registered companies. donations are properly and transparently declared to the

electoral commission and openly published by them. they say is above board and fully complies to the law. but in last half an hour or so there has been an urgent question and has house of commons triggered by our story, where mps, opposition mps, are asking the conservatives to clarify their relationship with mr marandi. that is going onjust as we came on air. as for mr marandi himself, he is clearly deeply, deeply disappointed he has been named. in fact, deeply disappointed he has been named. infact, his deeply disappointed he has been named. in fact, his spokesman believes he's been treated deeply and fairly. this is a fundamental injustice. 0ver and fairly. this is a fundamental injustice. over the 18 month legal battle here, the courts involved in this case needed him to present clear are evidence about why he would suffer damage. he said he was unable to defend himself in this case because it was targeted at someone else and effectively he becomes collateral damage. last night, the court of appeal said to him and the bbc that when it lifted the order that although he wasn't a

party or witness to this case, it didn't mean he hadn't had a fair opportunity to address any allegations made. he could have refuted them in detail when he put his evidence in for anonymity earlier on. so it is quite a complex situation here but i stress he denies any wrongdoing and isn't subject to any criminal action. sure, 0k. many thanks, dominic casciani. new figures show the number of people out of work due to long term sickness is at a record high. they also show the uk's unemployment rate rose unexpectedly in the first three months of the year. with more, here's ben king. what's on the menu tonight, then? business is good at this hotel group. the problem is finding the staff. more than one in ten jobs is unfilled. in the north of england, housekeepers are hard to find. here in eastbourne, it's chefs. key worry for us is that we don't have enough staff to cater for the level of business that we have. hotels are in the business of selling bedrooms in the main. i don't want to have any hotels not

being able to sell bedrooms because they don't have enough staff to cater for the business that we've got. businesses find themselves in this position partly because millions of people left the workforce during the pandemic. today's figures show students, carers and even some retired people coming back to work. but the numbers of long term sick rose sharply to two—and—a—half million. long covid, rising mental health problems and back and joint pain caused by working from home all contributed. in certain key sectors, the pressures have been really high and actually the growth in mental health issues and wellbeing issues are coming to the fore now. so perhaps there is something of that post—traumatic stress syndrome coming to the fore, and that's something we should be watching for really closely. today's figures show that unemployment is still low, though it rose 0.1% to 3.9% in the first three months of this year. vacancies fell slightly, but there are still more

than a million jobs unfilled, and firms have been paying more to attract workers. average pay was up 6.7%. rising wages are an issue here at the bank of england, too. the fear is that companies will put their prices up to cover the extra money they're spending on wages. that means higher inflation for longer, which means that the bank may have to put up interest rates yet again to bring inflation back down to its 2% target. they've put pay at this hotel group up by 15 to 20% over the past year. and they're finding the search for workers a little easier. but pay rises, they say, will only go so far. getting more people back to work will be essential to ease the pain of businesses and get the economy moving again. ben king, bbc news. vodafone will cut 11,000 jobs over the next three years in plans to, as they put it, �*simplify�* the company. more than 10% of the workforce will be hit, including staff in the uk headquarters. the firm's new chief executive says

the company's �*performance has not been good enough�*. 0ur international business correspondent, theo leggett, joins us. theo, what has vodafone been getting wrong? the business simply hasn't been performing well enough and hasn't been for several years. vodafone is a very big company. it has operations across europe, it also has a significant operation in africa as well. but it is in the older markets, the european markets, where it has seen its profits stagnate or decline. it has been losing broadband subscribers in germany, its biggest market. it hasn't been living up to its own or investors expectations and that's why the chief executive has decided that change is urgently needed. she wants to strip away some of the fat in the company make it a bit leaner. in terms of where those job cuts are going to fall, that is quite key. it is going to be in europe and the uk and in the uk because the head office is here. there will be significantjob cuts. the company

hasn't specified exactly where they are going to fall but we do understand that at least 500 are going to be here in the uk. the idea is that these will be functions that are away from customer facing functions. so people will actually serve customers, they won't be affected because the idea is this company is losing out to the competition, it needs to invest more in customer service in order to win those subscribers back. 30. in customer service in order to win those subscribers back.— rishi sunak has been meeting with agricultural and food retailers today, as british farmers struggle with extreme weather, soaring costs and a lack of seasonal workers. they discussed how to boost domestic fruit and vegetable production, supermarkets experienced shortages of imported produce earlier this year. here's emma simpson. a farm to fork food summit. everyone from the industry here, including a couple of celebs from jeremy clarkson' tv farming show, to discuss the future of food production in the uk. we

discuss the future of food production in the uk. we had a billion less _ production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs _ production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs than - production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs than we - production in the uk. we had a billion less eggs than we had i production in the uk. we had a| billion less eggs than we had in 2019. we have had salad rationing and there is so much more that we can do here. so the whole idea of today, which is what the prime minister committed to in august, is to find a solution to a lot of the challenges which hopefully will help with the cost of living. at challenges which hopefully will help with the cost of living.— with the cost of living. at first, a branch in the _ with the cost of living. at first, a branch in the downing _ with the cost of living. at first, a branch in the downing street - with the cost of living. at first, a - branch in the downing street garden, with the best of british food and the prime minister serving up a package of support for the industry, including confirmation that farmers will get seasonal workers from abroad at the same level for another year. here is what farmers have been telling the bbc over the last year about the impact they have felt. hat about the impact they have felt. not 'ust about the impact they have felt. iirrt just financially, it's been a huge mental stress. we just financially, it's been a huge mental stress.— just financially, it's been a huge mental stress. ~ ., , mental stress. we will look at ways to either get _ mental stress. we will look at ways to either get out _ mental stress. we will look at ways to either get out of— mental stress. we will look at ways to either get out of farming - mental stress. we will look at ways to either get out of farming or - to either get out of farming or reduce — to either get out of farming or reduce the risk even more. energy costs, fertiliser _ reduce the risk even more. energy costs, fertiliser costs, _ reduce the risk even more. energy costs, fertiliser costs, seed - reduce the risk even more. energy costs, fertiliser costs, seed costs, | costs, fertiliser costs, seed costs, packaging — costs, fertiliser costs, seed costs, packaging costs. _ costs, fertiliser costs, seed costs, packaging costs, shortage - costs, fertiliser costs, seed costs, packaging costs, shortage of- costs, fertiliser costs, seed costs, . packaging costs, shortage of labour. welcome _ packaging costs, shortage of labour. welcome to— packaging costs, shortage of labour. welcome to the _ packaging costs, shortage of labour. welcome to the nation's _ packaging costs, shortage of labour. welcome to the nation's phone - packaging costs, shortage of labour. welcome to the nation's phone in... | welcome to the nation's phone in... but it's the soaring cost of food

that consumers are talking about. food prices, reality or rip—off? they have been going up. new research suggests a tub of cottage cheese from lidl has gone for an average of 67p to 1.3 for this year, thatis average of 67p to 1.3 for this year, that is twice the price. a four pack of brown onions from morrisons has gone up from 65p to £1.24 and at asda, which found a package of frankfurters has risen from £1.25 to £2.42, an increase of 90%.- £2.42, an increase of 90%. three main factors. _ £2.42, an increase of 90%. three main factors, energy, labour- £2.42, an increase of 90%. three main factors, energy, labour and | mainfactors, energy, labourand commodity prices and all of those three have combined over the last year to 18 months to put huge pressure on food prices and it's been a massive challenge for our british farmers here and also retailers. a , british farmers here and also retailers. ., , ., retailers. many commodity costs have been fallin: retailers. many commodity costs have been falling and _ retailers. many commodity costs have been falling and some _ retailers. many commodity costs have been falling and some prices - retailers. many commodity costs have been falling and some prices are - been falling and some prices are starting to come down. tesco announcing some more cuts today. but

the pressure is now growing for all of the supermarkets to do as much as they can. emma simpson, bbc news. ukraine's captial, kyiv, has been targeted overnight by russian air strikes including drones and cruise missiles. it's been described as an �*exceptionally dense bombardment.�* 0ur correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv. take us through this latest onslaught, what happened? it take us through this latest onslaught, what happened? it was the eiuhth onslaught, what happened? it was the ei . hth time onslaught, what happened? it was the eighth time this _ onslaught, what happened? it was the eighth time this month _ onslaught, what happened? it was the eighth time this month that _ onslaught, what happened? it was the eighth time this month that kyiv - onslaught, what happened? it was the eighth time this month that kyiv had l eighth time this month that kyiv had come under attack and this attack was different. we had a number of extremely loud explosions at around 3am. we could actually see the work of the air defence system is destroying the missiles over the city. the ukrainian military said it had shot down all 18 missiles that had shot down all 18 missiles that had been fired by russia, including six hypersonic missiles. this is significant because it confirmed, it shows the ability that the ukrainian military has to destroy one of the

most sophisticated weapons in russia's arsenal. this has only been possible because of the patriot system is provided to ukraine. we have had reaction from moscow. the defence ministry said they had hit one of those systems, something not confined by the authority said. this latest attack happened after is after president zelensky finished a tour of european nations. he received the promise of billions of pounds worth of military aid from western countries and this includes a package from the uk, with attack drones and air defence missiles and as we are seeing here this morning, these missiles have been vital in protecting towns and cities from these relentless russian air strikes. ., ~ , ., ., these relentless russian air strikes. ., ~ ., ., strikes. thank you. hugo bachega live from kyiv. _ hundreds of afghan interpreters who were granted settlement status in the uk have been left stranded in hotels in pakistan, some for over a year. the british government originally

said they could come to the uk with their families because they helped british forces, but a lack of accommodation here means they're stuck. the home office says supporting the resettlement of eligible afghans remains a top priority. nawal al—maghafi has all the details. scenes of desperation. it's august 2021, and the taliban have taken over the country, including the capital, kabul. chaos as afghans flee, leaving everything behind to start a new life. gunfire. thousands of people who worked with the british forces during their campaign against terror were now a target. nearly two years on, and they're yet to make it to the promised safety of the uk. these are ahmed and khan, not their real names. 0nce interpreters for the british forces, they're amongst 1,000

people, 500 of them children, that the british government advised to head to a third country in order to be relocated to the uk. there is this humiliation. you put me in prison, in one room for 17 months. i need to work. i need to get education. i need to get the experience. i need to get a job. i need to get a good job. but since january 2022 until now, i am here in this one room. living in transit hotels, paid for by the british government, their entire lives contained into a few rooms. without pakistani visas, they cannot move beyond the hotel grounds. otherwise, they risk arrest and deportation back to afghanistan. it's like a golden cage, you know? especially for me. i'm under a lot of pressure here, mentally and physically. they're essentially under house arrest. their crime — working with

the british forces in afghanistan. the home office has put so much emphasis on refugees taking the safe and legal route to the uk, and that's exactly what these afghan interpreters have done. we hear stories of people who attempt to take their own lives. who are in absolute despair because of the lack of education, the lack of prospects, the lack of entertainment, the lack of mobility. for months now, danjarvis, a labour mp who served in afghanistan, has raised this issue in the commons. i think people who are currently sat in hotels in islamabad need to have some sense of whether there's going to be any support in terms of providing accommodation. at the moment, they're being told that they're going to have to scope and secure their own accommodation. that's incredibly difficult to do. since 2021, over 21,000 afghans have resettled in the uk and more than 8,000 have taken illegal routes

to the country. but from the afghans in pakistan, only five have made it to the uk in the last year. the rest have been given no indication of when they'll be relocated. now i'm stuck here. the taliban are threatening me. i can't go to afghanistan and i can't go to the uk. i'm stuck in the middle of things and now i'm prepared to go illegally to european countries. we asked the home office when the afghan interpreters will be welcomed in the uk and they said they continue to work at pace with local authorities to source suitable accommodation. but they didn't give us any firm date. and so for now, the lives of ahmed, khan and the hundreds of others with them remain in limbo with no end in sight. nawal al—maghafi, bbc news. and you can see more on that story on newsnight at 10.30 tonight on bbc two and on the bbc iplayer.

it is just it isjust shy it is just shy of 20 past one. our top story this afternoon. a man whose company was poured up in overseas money—laundering investigation and is alleged to be a tory party donor tory party ving in cold homes with bare floors as housing associations rip up the floors before new tenants move in. and coming up in sport on bbc news — with less than a week to go until the start of the french open, cam norrie faces novak djokovic for a place in the quarterfinals of the rome masters. surfing is one of the world's most popular pastimes, with 35—million people enjoying the sport. however surfboards are made from toxic chemicals, and wetsuits are manufactured from non biodegradeable products. campaigners say the sport must become more sustainable. here's our environment

correspondent, claire marshall. this is seven—times uk champion surfer lucy campbell. she's at the top of her game. training for the olympics, courted by global brands who understand the power of her image and how it could sell their products. but she's aware of the darker side of surfing, the carbon impact of travelling to find that perfect wave and that message of mass consumption. she's calling on the industry to clean up its act. it's often hard to turn down a big paycheque, if they're a brand that isn't... isn't sustainable, but it's definitely more worthwhile in the long run. you've done that, really? yeah, yeah, 100%. you do want to encourage people to get outdoors, but at the same time, at what cost to the planet? there's a cost from the toxic materials used in manufacturing. paul blacker is one of the uk's top surfboard shapers. over 35 years, he's crafted around 5,000 boards. oh, my god, right in my eyes.

yeah, if it gets in your eyes, it's really bad. and you can see it all, the dust. yeah. and that's polyurethane, it's not a great material. no, it's all petrochemical. yeah. everything comes from the petrochemical industry these days, everything. then there's the waste. this was just a fraction of the thousands of beginners boards dumped on uk beaches last summer. it's been used in the sea for a matter of hours before it's snapped and ended up as waste. it's really disheartening to see this amount of waste come forward. also adding to the damage done by the industry are wet suits. it's estimated that around a million are thrown away globally each year. derived from oil, neoprene is so durable it's been used to line landfill. we were shown a project which aims for the first time to turn old wet suits into new ones. we've taken the 1,000 wet suits that

were destined for landfill, send them off to bulgaria and they've been repurposed into a foam wetsuit—like material that we are now testing in some cold water products this autumn. some of the press that's coming out around the toxicity of neoprene is extreme, to say the least. horrendous. so if you knew that, why wouldn't you change? the surf industry members association says... and it needs to be done quickly. more than 35—million people are now riding the waves and that number is swelling all the time. claire marshall, bbc news. let's take a look at some of the other top stories this afternoon. at least six people have died and 11 others are missing, after what's being described as one of the worst fires in new zealand in half a century. the blaze was at a hostel, in the capital, wellington. the prime minister, chris hipkins, has visited the scene, and promised a �*thorough review�* of what happened.

a long—awaited report has heavily criticised the fbi�*s handling of its investigation into alleged ties between russia and the 2016 presidential campaign of donald trump. it says the agency�*s inquiry lacked "analytical rigour" and found the fbi had no evidence of collusion with moscow before launching an inquiry. the fbi says it�*s addressed the issues highlighted in the report. five men have been found guilty of a jewel heist in the german city of dresden. the thieves stole precious items worth £98 million from the city�*s state museum in 2019, after cutting through a metal grille. the police recovered some of the stolen goods, including a diamond encrusted sword, but it�*s feared several pieces may never be found. the men face sentences of four to six years. a poverty campaign group says more than a million people across the uk are living in cold homes with bare floors, often made of concrete. that�*s because 98% of social housing properties are let without carpets.

most housing associations rip up the flooring before new tenants move in, and many can�*t afford to replace it. here�*s colletta smith. in a small town tucked in a corner of the rhondda valley, there�*s a company solving a problem they didn�*t even know existed. people moving out of temporary accommodation, domestic abuse survivors, etc. they�*re put into homes and they�*re basically not provided with any flooring. mad. it�*s just mad. ellen spends most of her time selling used office carpet tiles to stop them going to landfill. but now she gives away what she can�*t sell. they�*re opening the doors today to give free carpet tiles to just some of the 1.2 million people across the uk currently living without flooring. we had a quote two years ago when we first moved into a flat, forjust carpet, fitted all the way

round, weren't it, overa grand and we havent got that money to spare at any point. stefan and angel have been living in a house with bare floors like so many other people in social housing. that�*s because almost all housing associations remove carpets and flooring between each tenant. i was expecting at least something to be down on the floors and there was nothing. you�*ve had four of the coldest months of the year, then, with a concrete floor. yeah. has that been hard to heat the house? yeah. the heating bills are horrendous. they don�*t seem to even think to offer a choice to people. it�*s just rip it out. the national housing federation told us that removing flooring was standard practice to ensure hygiene between lets and to prevent any possible contamination. but the welsh government are due to introduce new rules, forcing housing associations to provide flooring in all habitable rooms. end furniture poverty want all the other nations to do the same thing. go and inspect flooring.

if it looks good quality, clean it and leave it in place for the next tenant. that's low cost, it's quick. it's easy. the department for housing in england said landlords must ensure homes are of a decent standard and investigate and respond to complaints quickly. while the scottish government said floor coverings are the responsibility and personal choice of social housing tenants. but right across the uk, those on the lowest incomes have no choice. i�*ve been speaking to loads of people queuing up here, desperate to get their hands on some of these carpet tiles. the doors have only been open for about 45 minutes, already they�*ve shifted 5,000 of these carpet tiles. that�*s giving away enough to carpet around 75 rooms, an absolute lifeline for anyone lucky enough to get hold of them. stefan�*s wasting no time in getting the carpet tiles cut and laid. no more concrete for learning to crawl. it feels like we�*ve accomplished something for the kids. all: yay! colletta smith, bbc news, in the rhondda valley.

80 years ago today, 19 lancaster bombers took off from raf scrampton in lincolnshire on a secret mission to strike at the heart of germany�*s world war ii operations. tonight, a special flypast will mark the anniversary of the famous dambusters raid of 1943. danny savage has that story. later this evening, weather permitting, this lancaster bomber will once again climb into the sky above lincolnshire. eighty years to the night since 19 of these planes took off on the most famous raf mission of world war ii. flying at night at 60 feet in mountainous terrain to drop an ingenious weapon that had never been used before. it�*s generally the stuff of legends. and i think the modern day air force can be as inspired now by what they did, albeit it was some 80 years ago. the story was made into a film —

1950s special effects recreating the drama of the mission. nice work, skipper. the man who created the bouncing bomb used these very marbles to test the theory of skimming them off water. he just thought to himself, what would be the engineer�*s way of stopping the war? they belonged to barnes wallace�*s daughter, who was then about ten, but still recalls the night of the mission. they had a great big square box that was a loudspeaker, and i got up on a chair and got behind the curtain and listened to it and it said how the dams have been burst. he was appalled. 58 people, i think it was, were killed, english people. and then there were all the germans. and he just felt it was more than he could stand. over the past two decades, we�*ve filmed with some of the veterans. les munro was one of the pilots. let�*s take a flight and let�*s have a look

at your old training route. i feel a great deal of pride in the fact that i took part in the dam raid itself. and as a consequence trained on the derwent water. johnnyjohnson here on the far left was a bomb aimer who made his pilot fly round their target ten times before being satisfied with the approach. it meant to me to do it, not do it properly was a waste of time. both have since died. this is the first anniversary without any surviving veteran from those who took off 80 years ago tonight. plane engine starts. but the sound of the plane which carried them will once again resonate across the county they took off from this evening. danny savage, bbc news, lincolnshire.

i wonderfor the flying i wonder for the flying weather will