today at one: an unprecedented apology from water companies in england for the amount of sewage spilled into rivers and seas. last year, there were on average 800 sewage spills every day. the companies are promising to improve. we're sorry about the upset and the anger from the fact that there have been overspills of untreated sewage onto beaches and into rivers over the past few years. we are sorry that we didn't act sooner. the water companies have promised to spend £10 billion modernising sewers, though that will mean higher bills for customers. also this lunchtime: a man has admitted abducting a girl of primary school age while he was dressed as a woman, before sexually assaulting her.

the prime minister arrives injapan for a summit of g7 world leaders in hiroshima. how exactly do our bodies get older? the bbc�*s medical editorjoins volunteers being body scanned to reveal the secrets of ageing. # i'll send an 505 to the world and a special honour for sting at the ivor novello awards for songwriting. and coming up on bbc news, frosty conditions delay the start of the second golf major of the year, the us pga at oak hill in new york. good afternoon. water companies in england have apologised for not doing enough to stop sewage from flowing

into rivers and seas. last year there were 800 untreated discharges every day on average, which has caused mounting public anger. the water companies have promised to spend £10 billion to put it right by modernising sewers, although it will mean higher bills for customers. our environment correspondentjonah fisher. for years, campaigners have complained about the amount of sewage that flows into our waterways and that profit has been put before the health of our rivers and beaches. england's water companies have always denied that. but today they came together to make an unprecedented apology. i am here on behalf of the water industry today to say sorry. we are sorry about the upset and the anger from the fact that there have been overspills of untreated sewage onto beaches and into rivers over the last few years. we are sorry that we did not act sooner. but we get it.

they get it and propose spending £10 billion by 2030 — that's three times more than had been previously planned. if approved by the regulator, the money will go towards bigger pipes, upgraded sewage works, and huge tanks to stop sewage overflowing when it rains. the money to fund these improvements, for places like this sewage treatment plant behind me, won't come out of the water companies�* back pockets or the dividends they've paid out to their shareholders. ultimately, it will be paid for by you and i in the form of higher bills. welcome back to the today programme. who exactly is sorry? for campaigners in 0xfordshire listening to the apology, it was a sign they were at last making some progress. we will give ourselves a pat - on the back when the sewage stops wrecking our rivers and we start

to see clean rivers again. - in the meantime, we are not being. part of the green washing campaign, thank you very much. we want action. you are somewhat sceptical of this apology then? sceptical, but enthused l by the fact this is starting to rattle government, - it's rattling the water industry and it's rattling the regulators. the water companies will hope this draws a line under their past failings and enables them to begin rebuilding, both the sewage network and the public�*s trust. jonahjoins us now from 0xfordshire. £10 billion to improve the sewage system, but is there anger about who will have to pay for that? there has been this morning particularly in the context of the profits the water companies have been making over the last few decades and the often very lucrative salaries paid to their chief executives. we have been spending the morning with activists in 0xfordshire, they have been very clear they don't think it should be

put on us the consumer to pay for this upgrade of the sewage system. they would like the water companies themselves and shareholders of water companies to be finding that money. there has been some political response today, the lib dems also echoing that, saying they do not think customers should have to pay the price to pay for the improvements. labour have been critical, saying it is a failure of conservative policy. downing street this morning has been briefing while they welcome this apology from the water companies, they would like them to have caution in their mind, to be careful about raising the price of water, raising bills, and that they hope common sense prevails. that they hope common sense revails. . ~' , ., that they hope common sense revails. ., ~ g ., ., that they hope common sense revails. ., ~ ., , prevails. thank you, jonah fisher reporting- _ a man has admitted abducting a girl of primary school age

while he was dressed as a woman, before sexually assaulting her at a house in the scottish borders in february. the 53—year—old butcher appeared via video link at edinburgh high court, under the name of andrew miller. he is also known as amy george and is in the process of transitioning to become a woman. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon is outside the court. bring us up to date with what is happening. bring us up to date with what is happening-— happening. yes, andrew miller listened to _ happening. yes, andrew miller listened to the _ happening. yes, andrew miller listened to the hearing - happening. yes, andrew miller listened to the hearing by - happening. yes, andrew miller| listened to the hearing by video link from prison, he remained impassive as the circumstances surrounding the child's abduction were relayed to the court. the primary school—aged child mobile phone but had died and there were no buses so she was walking home when she was approached by what she described as a lady and a car who said her name was amy george, the child said the person did not appear to be threatening so as she accepted a lift. miller also known as amy george took the school got to his house were over 27 hours he

repeatedly sexually assaulted her. —— the schoolgirl. she complied with her demands because she did not want to make him mad. she asked to go home. he said he would let her go after a week, at another point he said he would not let her go because she was his new family. she called 909 after escaping from the bedroom when miller fell asleep. in the narrative read to the court, the lawyer for the prosecution said the distress in the child's voice was palpable. thejudge said it distress in the child's voice was palpable. the judge said it was an abhorrent crime and his actions were every parent's abhorrent crime and his actions were every pa rent�*s worst abhorrent crime and his actions were every parent's worst nightmare. miller will be sentenced in august. thank you, lorna gordon reporting. a celebrity news agency has rejected claims by the duke and duchess of sussex that they were subjected to a "near catastrophic car chase" through the streets of new york. a warning, we are about to show

some flashing images. this was the couple leaving an event on tuesday, where meghan markle had accepted an award. the couple claim they were then pursued by photographers for two hours. but in a statement released overnight, the backgrid photo agency said, "photographers have a professional responsibility "to cover newsworthy events. "they had no intention of causing any distress or harm." they claim one vehicle from prince harry's security escort was driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless. the latest from all of this from our correspondent nada tawfik who can join us now from new york. is up to date with what has said.— date with what has said. clearly there are a _ date with what has said. clearly there are a lot _ date with what has said. clearly there are a lot of— date with what has said. clearly there are a lot of gaps - date with what has said. clearly there are a lot of gaps in - date with what has said. clearly there are a lot of gaps in what i there are a lot of gaps in what happened in this entire pursuit. but we are now hearing from several paparazzi, one anonymously spoke to

itv saying if anything it was dangerous or catastrophic it was because of harry and meghan�*s driver. very tense trying to keep up with videos, they get a lot of blocking, a lot of different manoeuvres. you had a bit from the statement from backgrid who say they will be conducting an investigation, thought it was important to provide a factual and fair response. they say there were no near collisions, no crashes and that indeed it was prince harry's security escort driving in a manner that could be perceived as reckless. here we have more accounts coming in, certainly it is very different to that coming from harry and meghan and also by the nypd and new york officials who described the transport as challenging. still unclear if harry and meghan remain in new york and the sussexes have not responded to

new claims coming out.— new claims coming out. thank you, nada tawfik— new claims coming out. thank you, nada tawfik in _ new claims coming out. thank you, nada tawfik in new _ new claims coming out. thank you, nada tawfik in new york. - police investigating the deaths of hundreds of patients at a community hospital say they have identified 19 suspects. an independent police investigation was launched into gosport war memorial hospital, in hampshire, after inquiries found that hundreds of patients had their lives shortened through the use of opioids between 1989 and 2000. duncan kennedy reports. this is your dad? yes. for more than 30 ears, this is your dad? yes. for more than 30 years. linda _ this is your dad? yes. for more than 30 years, linda has wanted to know exactly how her father died. he suffered from parkinson's disease but had no other major underlying health issues. he was one of hundreds of people admitted to the gosport war memorial hospital in the 80s and 90s for what should have been a simple case of respite care. he was not dying. he had gone in basically to give my mum a rest from

looking after him. a few days later, he passed away. i was in total shock. somebodyjust does not die like that for no particular reason. six years ago an independent panel of experts concluded more than a50 patients at the hospital died after being given opioid drugs inappropriately. this doctor oversaw the practice of prescribing on the wards, speaking after the report, she said she was a hard—working doctor who was doing her best for patients. a police inquiry was set “p patients. a police inquiry was set up to investigate the deaths. this week it held a briefing with the families. the police team involved has around 150 serving and retired detectives and has already looked at more than 3 million documents including the records of 750 patients. it has taken more than 1000 witness statements from members

of the families. detectives say they have identified 19 suspects in the case. it is one of the largest and most complex inquiries in uk policing, they say. what do you want to come out of this police inquiry? justice for everybody. i want justice for my dad, basically. this is something i felt i could justice for my dad, basically. this is something ifelt i could do for him. is something i felt i could do for him. ., . . , is something i felt i could do for him. ., ., ., , ., him. for linda and the hundreds of other families _ him. for linda and the hundreds of other families involved, _ him. for linda and the hundreds of other families involved, this - him. for linda and the hundreds of other families involved, this has i otherfamilies involved, this has been a gruelling experience. involving their loved ones and the pursuit of answers. duncan kennedy, bbc news, gosport. lucy b has accused hospital bosses of a conspiracy against her covering up shortcomings in the neonatal ward where she is accused of killing babies. the 33—year—old is alleged to have murdered seven babies under attempted to murder ten others between june of 2015 and june 2016 at the countess of chester hospital.

the nurse accused a gang of four doctors of apportioning blame on to her to cover up failings at the hospital. lucy letby denies all charges against her and the case does continue. the welsh government has failed to reach its target of eliminating two—year waits for hospital treatment. last year, ministers pledged to tackle waiting lists, but new figures show that in march this year more than 30,000 treatments were yet to be completed, two years after they were ordered. the welsh government says huge strides have been made clearing waiting lists, but more needs to be done. the telecoms giant bt has announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade. that's around a0% of its workforce. bt is looking to cut costs after a 12% drop in annual profits. more on this from our business correspondent theo leggett with me now. a huge number ofjobs being lost. it now. a huge number of “obs being lost. , , , ., , �*

lost. it is. over seven years. bt will be a — lost. it is. over seven years. bt will be a much _ lost. it is. over seven years. bt will be a much smaller - lost. it is. over seven years. bt| will be a much smaller company lost. it is. over seven years. bt- will be a much smaller company at the end. you have to look at why it is doing it. a big part is bt has spent the past few years developing new networks, broadband high speed internet network and fighting networks. it requires a lot of engineers, technicians. 0nce networks. it requires a lot of engineers, technicians. once the networks are up and running, you don't need as many people to keep them operating —— 5g. a lot of contractors will see contracts come to an end. there is also the existing networks, based on copper wires, they will be switched off. they need a lot of people to keep them operating. when they are turned off, those people will be allowed to retirement will not be replaced. what is slightly more controversial, the company reckons it can get rid of 10,000 people replacing them with digital services,? of 10,000 people replacing them with digital services, ? services of 10,000 people replacing them with digital services,? services people. we are talking about al, chat bots, things like that —— customer services people. bt says it will still have call centres with people

working in them.— working in them. thank you, theo le aett, working in them. thank you, theo leggett, business _ working in them. thank you, theo leggett, business correspondent. | our top story this afternoon... england's water companies have apologised for allowing sewage into rivers and seas hundreds of times a day. and still to come... stars from the music industry gather in london this lunchtime for the prestigious ivor novello awards. coming up on bbc news, pep guardiola has his manchester city players daring to dream of a famous treble after his side took apart real madrid at the ethiad to seal their spot in this year's champions league final in istanbul next month. now, we're all getting older, sadly, but how exactly does the human body age? by understanding the answer to that question better, scientists believe they may be able to prevent disease — perhaps years before symptoms appear.

now the world's biggest human—imaging project is going to re—scan the brains and bodies of 60,000 volunteers here in the uk. it will take detailed images of the brain, heart and bones. and among those taking part is our very own medical editor, fergus walsh. this vast freezer is a treasure trove of human health. it contains 10 million dna samples from the 500,000 volunteers who make up uk biobank, delivering vital insights into disease. more than 30,000 scientists from over 90 countries are exploring the genetic information stored anonymously in these drawers. so far more than 7,000 research papers have been published using uk biobank data, nearly a third of those

in the last year alone. this resource is getting more valuable with every year that passes because the volunteers are getting older. in 2010, when i signed up to biobank, i did a battery of health tests. squeeze up as hard as you can. 13 years later i've repeated many of them. cor blimey. 0h! now i'm the first volunteer to undergo a second round of brain and body scans, along with bone density measurements. it will reveal even more detail of how we age. it enables researchers for the first time to be able to look at changes in our organs as we get older and develop disease. that will help to develop biomarkers of disease perhaps many years before a clinical diagnosis of symptoms, therefore helping to come up

with ways to prevent disease happening in the first place or come up with new treatments. the volunteers, like mary, who's 81, and marion, 67, have done reams of cognitive tests and lifestyle questionnaires. they don't get to see the results, so what's in it for them? well, it's going to help future generations and it's going to help the health service, we hope. maybe there's a measure of altruism in there and it's a bit _ like being a blood donor — - you do it for your fellow man. big breath in. time will eventually catch up with all the volunteers. nearly one in ten have already died. but that all adds to the wealth of information contained in uk biobank, which may help others to live longer, healthier lives. fergus walsh, bbc news.

the prime minister has refused to commit to a conservative manifesto promise to bring down legal immigration levels to below where they were four years ago. the 2019 tory manifesto promised that "overall numbers will come down", but speaking to reporters on a trip to japan, rishi sunak said the priority is illegal immigration. mr sunak hasjust arrived in hiroshima for a summit of g7 leaders. illegal migration is a topic that is concerning i think almost everyone in our country and i'm working night and day to stop the boats. i've just come from a meeting of european leaders in iceland where i'm pleased that we've opened up negotiations with the eu to cooperate with their border agency frontex. that's a positive step forward, that intelligence sharing, that increased cooperation between our border agencies will help us tackle illegal migration, one of the many things we're doing to stop the boats. 0ur political editor chris mason is travelling with the prime minister and joins us from hiroshima now. is this a change in

direction on immigration? it is definitely a change, because when the prime minister was asked repeatedly about legal migration, about whether he is conservative leader and prime minister would stick to that promise from their manifesto four years ago to reduce net migration when it stood at about 250,000 a year, he merely said that he did want to get the number down, but it wouldn't commit to get getting it below the figure when the promise was made and since then the number has doubled. there's a new number has doubled. there's a new number expected this time next week when it could have trebled, it could be around 750,000, maybe even higher, so there's been this consistent pattern since the conservatives have been in power since 2010 when they have promised one thing on net migration and the reality has been very different and the significance of what mr sunak was saying is that he was tacitly acknowledging that's going to remain the case into the future and it

could be awkward i think when those new figures come under the conservatives face big questions about that number. figs conservatives face big questions about that number. $5 i conservatives face big questions about that number. as i mentioned ou are in about that number. as i mentioned you are injapan — about that number. as i mentioned you are in japan with _ about that number. as i mentioned you are in japan with the _ about that number. as i mentioned you are in japan with the prime - you are injapan with the prime ministerfor this g7 you are injapan with the prime minister for this g7 summit. tell us briefly about the significance of that summit.— briefly about the significance of that summit. . ., ., ., that summit. yeah, a gathering of world leaders _ that summit. yeah, a gathering of world leaders here _ that summit. yeah, a gathering of world leaders here inherit - that summit. yeah, a gathering of world leaders here inherit shima. | that summit. yeah, a gathering of. world leaders here inherit shima. it starts tomorrow. i think there will be three big things on the agenda, ukraine will be huge as you would expect. china too will be discussed, a concern for many world leaders wherever they are around the globe but felt particularly keenly in this region, a relatively near neighbour. real nervousness about the future of taiwan, its being independent but china saying it regards it as part of its own, so realjitters there. that will be a focus of conversation.- that will be a focus of conversation. , a, ,., ., ,, conversation. chris mason, thank ou, our conversation. chris mason, thank you, our political— conversation. chris mason, thank you, our political editor— conversation. chris mason, thank you, our political editor in - conversation. chris mason, thank you, our political editor in japan. | as we've been hearing, rishi sunak is injapan for the g7 summit. he and japan's prime minister

are set to sign what's called the hiroshima accord, an agreement aimed at increasing defence cooperation amid fears of china's rising militarisation and aggression. 0ur tokyo correspondent shaimaa khalil travelled to 0kinawa, home to both us and japanese air bases. at this 0kinawa air base these routine military exercises have become more urgent. japan's south—western islands are on the front line of any potential conflict between taiwan and china. a threat that's becoming more real by the day. this captain and his colleagues know that any response would have to involve their american counterparts. 0kinawa is home to the biggest concentration of us military presence injapan, but the young pilot tells me is china's capabilities increase, so too should his squadron�*s readiness to retaliate.

translation: when i scramble to intercept the planes and see l chinese aircraft in front of me i naturally feel a sense of tension, but it also makes me realise that i'm on a mission on the front line of national defence. when the government announced the biggest military build—up since the second world war it illustrated japan's urgent need to show that it can defend itself. this is a pacifist nation now facing the potential of a conflict on its doorstep, be it from a beligerant north korea or because of china's increased aggression against taiwan. an hour's flight from 0kinawa main is ishigaki island, a picturesque haven known for fishing and agriculture. the beautiful beaches have long attracted holiday—makers. but beyond this facade of calm stands japan's newest military base. nearly 600 troops have moved here earlier this year including squads capable of launching land to ship and land to air missiles into the east china sea and beyond.

the base has split a once close—knit community. many fear their island might now be a target. every week this veteran activist stands in the fields outside the base to protest. translation: as a person who has experienced - the second world war, i don't want a tragic situation to be repeated. i don't want this island to become a battlefield. ishigaki is close to two volatile frontiers. taiwan and its tension with china and the senkaku diaoyu islands, which tokyo controls and beijing claims. translation: the equipment we have in terms of missile launchers _ is for defending ourselves. it's not for attacking other countries. we are not looking for war. japan has not fired a single shot in battle since the end of world war ii but this country that has spent decades avoiding war might find itself being pulled into one. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, 0kinawa.

britain's biggest food bank provider says donations of groceries are failing to match the demand for emergency parcels. the trussell trust says charities are having to top up stocks themselves, as rising food prices lead to increased demand for help. 0ur cost of living correspondent, kevin peachey reports. next number for your full house. for the residents of bensham court in gateshead the numbers have been grim. unlucky for some, 13. finances stretched, food prices nearly 20% higher than a year ago. no wonder these are the prizes at the weekly bingo session. a lot of things have gone up and if i never had food bank and friends to rely on i would have been stuck. at the moment, like, - financially i'm not very good, but here because i'm getting food bank, because energy— prices are going up, - so it's helping me a lot. money is tight, but there's

community spirit here in spades. 0utside they're growing their own produce to top up the emergency food bank, bringing financial and health benefits. what we try to do is make them resilient in the community and help them connect with the voluntary sectors and local organisations around on their doorstep. that then keeps them away from the gps. it obviously stops them from taking medication if this helps, and it's making them resilient again. this is one of the uk's most deprived areas, where demand for the items given to food banks has doubled injust over a year. this is what generosity looks like. there's enough in donations here to serve the local community for the next month or so, but with food prices rising at a rapid rate the pressure's being felt not only by those who need this produce but those who are donating it too. over the last 12 months we've seen a decrease in donations into the food bank. there are some items we have plentiful supply of,

things like pasta, cooking sauce, cereal, but on the flip side there are items we are always short of, so toiletries, more expensive items like meat, fish, coffee, items like that. to make that clear, software engineer paul has created donation genie, a free guide to what's in demand near you. it collects no personal data. you simply pop in your postcode or the town that you live in. - i it's going to tell you the addressl of your local food bank, its name, and a list of things that they need and sometimes a list _ of things that they don't need, that they happenl to have an excess of. thanks to technology a little charity can go a long way. kevin peachey, bbc news. stars from the world of music have been arriving at the ivor novello song—writing awards this morning, from sir bob geldof to charli xcx. in recognition of his songwriting success, pop superstar sting will be awarded a fellowship. he follows in the footsteps of only

23 others to get that honour. sting has been talking to our music correspondent mark savage ahead of the awards. # i hope that someone gets my # message in a bottle, yeah...# the first hit song you had was roxanne. do you remember listening to the chart countdown on radio 1 the week that went into the top a0? yeah, i was in my kitchen in bayswater on a plank on top of the ladders painting the ceiling with some white emulsion and i had radio 1 on and i suddenly recognised the song. # you don't have to sell your body to the night # roxanne. # it's roxanne. i literally fell off the ladder and immediately called the other guys in the band. "we're on the radio!" they were listening too. but nothing will ever beat that first, you know,

time you hear yourself on the radio. that is incredible. and then you write what is i think the most played radio song of all time. # every bond you break # every step you take # i'll be watching you. # it's interesting because the song that did have that position before that was you've lost that loving feeling by the righteous brothers. now, that's one of my favourite songs of all time and i think it's from 1966, so i was 1a, 15 at the time. for one of my songs to supersede that, i still can't quite get my head around. i wondered, as a professional songwriter, have you been watching the ed sheeran copyright trial? yes. what did you make of that? i was glad that ed won. i think the building blocks of music we hold in common,

all of us, song writers. it cannot be owned by any one person or any entity. much less can it be owned by an artificial machine intelligence. what's your take on that? because i think there have been i guess what you could call convincing facsimiles of music. it's similar to the way i watch a movie with cgi. you know, it doesn't impress me at all. i get immediately bored when i see a computer—generated image. i imagine i will feel the same way about al making music. i think maybe for electronic dance music, it works. but for songs, expressing emotions, i don't think i will be moved by it. # message in a bottle. #

but rest assured, it will be the actual human sting who collects his award at the ivor novellos later today.