this is bbc news, the headlines... police in london arrest a man after a car is driven into the gates of downing street. the incident is not being treated as terror related. the founder of the far—right militant oath keepers is sentenced to 18 years for his role in the capitol riot. uk households will see energy bills fall for the first time in three years — we'll compare prices around the world. and my interview with the renowned historian and writer, simon schama, about his new book, foreign bodies we will play the interview later in the programme. welcome back to the programme, i'm

gilda hakim. a federaljudge in the united states has sentenced the founder of the far—right militant oath keepers, stewart rhodes, to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to the storming of the us capitol on january the 6th, 2021. with the latest, here's our north america correspondentjessica parker. he was convicted at the back of last year, and now we've learned that a federaljudge has sentenced him to 18 years in prison. prosecutors had actually sought a longer sentence of 25 years, but 18 years is what he's been given. in court, we understand he was pretty defiant, saying that he was a political prisoner — something that the judge really wasn't having anything of, basically suggesting he still presented a peril to the country. in terms of what happened during the course of the trial, he wasn't the only member of the oath keepers who was on trial, and we expect some further sentencing over the coming days — but he is the leader of this far—right militia group and, while he didn't personally go

into the capitol onjanuary 6th, he was accused by prosecutors of essentially coordinating things via messages from outside the capitol building. so i think this will be seen as a highly significant conviction and sentencing. also worth bearing in mind, this isn'tjust a matter of rattling through these cases following january sixth. donald trump, the former president who of course wants to reenter the white house, when he was asked recently during a cnn town hall conversation he was having whether he would pardon january 6th rioters, he basically suggested he would look to pardon at least some, if not most of them. so this is a current political issue as well as a judicial one. jessica parker reporting from washington. most households in england, scotland, and wales will see their gas and electricity bills come

down this summer after the energy regulator, ofgem, announced a cut in the price cap from july. it is the first fall in domestic energy prices for nearly three years. but bills remain very high — they are still around double what they were before the energy crisis. our cost of living correspondent colletta smith reports. hello, kirat. you're here! last time we chatted, kirat was very worried about what the winter ahead would hold. so let's have a look and see what you told me a year ago. are you ready? there's more chances of us going into debt with the rises of all the electricity. you were saying there, with higher prices, you're more likely to get more into debt. has that happened over the last year? yes, iam in debt, and i have to ask my family for support. just to cover those energy bills. energy bills, yes, because of the... just to afford them. yeah. kirat and herfamily, like 4 million others, are on a prepayment metre. you just topped up yesterday, right?

yes, i did. ok, so there's £39.80 there. how much did you put on yesterday? £50. ok, so you've spent £10 just in electricity in a day. in a day, yeah. she had hoped today's announcement would help her more. wholesale pricesjumped massively when the war in ukraine began, but now they're down to roughly the same level that they were in 2021. so the regulator's under pressure to do more to protect customers, because, here's the rub, the rate that we are being charged, even with today's announcement, is roughly double the amount we were paying in 2021. it's taking all the disposable, it's taking it all away from me. you're living day—to—day, basically. anything what's coming down, it helps, doesn't it? _ and it shows that things might be getting a little bit better, - even only by a small margin. the problem is we have also all lost that extra support we've been getting from the government each month.

so although we'll be charged less, customers will have to pay their whole bill themselves. the 17% reduction will not cover the £66 end of the winter support payment. so next winter, in practice, most households will be paying more than they did the winter that has just gone. but competition could be back on the cards, with some suppliers likely to offer cheaper fixed rates. but before you switch, make sure it's below the newjuly price cap. you can find out more information on how the price changes will affect your bills by going to the tackling it together pages on the bbc news website. there's hope that the cap will come down more in the autumn, but kirat doesn't think it will be enough to make a difference. we've not been able to do the stuff that we normally would do as a family. it's just really hard to manage. oh, look at this, what is this? colletta smith, bbc news, and bradford. of course, the price of energy impacts people all around the world.

wholesale prices are affected by global issues, such as the war in ukraine. you can see there was a big spike shortly after the invasion of the country, with prices reducing significantly in the last six months. analysts have said that germany was badly affected when russian gas supplies dried up after the invasion of ukraine. now we know the the economy contracted by 0.3% between january and march. the country is now officially in recession. that followed a 0.5% contraction in the last three months of last year. a country is deemed to be in recession when its economy shrinks for two consecutive three—month periods. live now to london to speak to aneeka gupta, director of macroeconomic research at wisdom tree, which is an asset management company. thank you so much. wejust looked thank you so much. we just looked a little bit at some of the issues in some of the countries impacted, and the snapshot of the situation here

in the uk, but this is a global issue? ., �* ., , , issue? you're absolutely right, we've had _ issue? you're absolutely right, we've had quite _ issue? you're absolutely right, we've had quite a _ issue? you're absolutely right, we've had quite a turnaround l issue? you're absolutely right, | we've had quite a turnaround of events ever since the russia— ukraine war. what was initially anticipated as the aftermath of the war was the energy prices would rise at an elevated level. but russian oil has managed to find its way across the globe despite the sanctions placed from the west, we've seen two of the leading oil consumers, such as india and china, actually buy up a lot of russian oil. so that's been weighing down on oil. so that's been weighing down on oil prices. we've also seen concerns of recession largely in the us, and several parts of the world are dominating oil prices, which is why we had a bit of a downward trend in oil prices at this point in time. so

actually globally, we are seeing oil prices dropping at the moment? that's absolutely right. the concerns that the global economy will move a recessionary phrase that i can face is dampening demand for oil, and the prospect of oil prices being a lot lower is a result of oil prices coming off. but there is an important point to keep in mind at the background, which is that nearly 45% of oil supplied to the globe is via the opec group and its member countries. and with 45% essentially in their control, it's an important swing factorfor in their control, it's an important swing factor for the in their control, it's an important swing factorfor the oil in their control, it's an important swing factor for the oil market. what we saw based on the most recent meetings that opec plus had it was that they decided to announce a surprise oil production cut — and as

a result, we did see oil prices spiked for a brief period... we do see these — spiked for a brief period... we do see these things _ spiked for a brief period... we do see these things politcised - see these things politcised depending on the geopolitical situation, then of course that ends up situation, then of course that ends up causing problems in people's homes. . �* , , ., homes. that's right, these are unknown factors _ homes. that's right, these are unknown factors such - homes. that's right, these are unknown factors such as - homes. that's right, these are unknown factors such as the i homes. that's right, these are - unknown factors such as the events of the war, opec plus intervening, geopolitical factors are quite prevalent in our day—to—day times, and we are having quite a strong impact on oil prices. but now... just in terms of the cap, or other countries and governments doing the same? we countries and governments doing the same? ~ . ., , ., countries and governments doing the same? . ., , ., , countries and governments doing the same? ~ . ., , ., , ., same? we have had several parts of eumpe actually _ same? we have had several parts of europe actually having _ same? we have had several parts of europe actually having a _ same? we have had several parts of europe actually having a cap - same? we have had several parts of europe actually having a cap on - europe actually having a cap on oil prices, that actually alleviated some of the pressure on consumers, but as we've seen oil prices naturally come up since the peak of last year, we've seen a number of

governments actually move towards removing that price gap. find governments actually move towards removing that price gap.— governments actually move towards removing that price gap. and part of the issue we've _ removing that price gap. and part of the issue we've seen _ removing that price gap. and part of the issue we've seen with _ removing that price gap. and part of the issue we've seen with the - removing that price gap. and part of the issue we've seen with the war i removing that price gap. and part of the issue we've seen with the war in j the issue we've seen with the war in ukraine is this clear evidence that there is independence from russia. we know governments have been trying to find independence from russia, resulting in a pinch felt in households. but going forward, are they looking for more and more alternatives elsewhere? absolutely, first and foremost _ alternatives elsewhere? absolutely, first and foremost for _ alternatives elsewhere? absolutely, first and foremost for europe, - alternatives elsewhere? absolutely, first and foremost for europe, they l first and foremost for europe, they are going ahead with the energy transition and trying to pave the way forward for reducing the dependence on russian energy supply. so that's been one of the first and foremost examples. we are seeing a very strong transition towards renewable forms of energy, we've seen that actually play out quite

well over the course of this year towards the second half of last year, we've seen europe actually be able to wean itself off its dependence on russian energy. many countries across the world would not want to find themselves as vulnerable as europe was to russia especially at the time of the war, so we see a number of countries across the world actually with the power on during the energy transition.— power on during the energy transition. . . ., transition. indeed, and if we can 'ust talk transition. indeed, and if we can just talk quickly _ transition. indeed, and if we can just talk quickly about _ transition. indeed, and if we can just talk quickly about the - just talk quickly about the recession we are now seeing, or germany saying it's now in recession — any surprises there? i germany saying it's now in recession - any surprises there?— - any surprises there? i think their statistical organisation, _ - any surprises there? i think their statistical organisation, initially . statistical organisation, initially in q statistical organisation, initially in 0 four, 2022, they said they had marginally escaped a decline in gdp, and those figures were revised later on showing a negative print. but

they did the same thing again in q1 of 2283, assured a positive number— that was revised again and now we have two consecutive quarters of negative gdp. where we are seeing strong pockets of weakness has been private consumption, households are holding back on consumption, be it in cars or day—to—day expenditures, they are coming down as recession is dominating sentiment across consumers. we've also seen government expenditure come down, and that's because all that expenditure that was taking place during covid is now coming down. so think what we will see for germany is a brief period where we will see a bit of a slow down, but i think we should see a rebound sometime in 2024. ., ~ , ., should see a rebound sometime in 2024. ., ~ i. should see a rebound sometime in 2024. ., ~ . ., should see a rebound sometime in 2024. ., . ., ., 2024. thank you so much for “oining us here on the i 2024. thank you so much for “oining us here on the programme. _ 2024. thank you so much forjoining us here on the programme. my - us here on the programme. my

pleasure- _ around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. at the st phillip's food bank, they start queuing two hours before it opens. this is food that is in short supply, but high demand. it's really bad. this is the warehouse where much of that food comes from. fridges are virtually empty, shelves are bare. it's really desperate. every week, we are thinking, "is this the week we'll have to shut the doors?" because we can't keep up with the orders. back at the st phillip's food bank, the shortage means they've been forced to find food elsewhere — but that too is proving difficult. we are having to literally go into shops — some shops are literally saying that we can't buy as much as we are because we are emptying some of their shelf stock, and obviously they want to leave food for other paying customers.

so going in and buying 100 cans of beans in a single go raises a few eyebrows. you're watching bbc news. "racism can never be elimated" — that's what the head of la liga in spain has told the bbc. javier tebas was speaking after the real madrid forward viniciuer was the target of abuse at valencia on sunday. mr tebas said he believed racist insults could be driven out of the country's stadiums within months, but the league would need greater powers. three valencia fans were arrested after viniciusjunior challenged his abusers at the weekend. their club stadium has been partially closed for five games as punishment. the bbc�*s guy hedgecoe sat down with mr tebas for an interview, and asked him if he was frustrated with his organisation's perceived lack of power to act. translation: eliminating this - problem 100% will never be possible,

the same way that totally eliminating robberies and other crimes is impossible. but we would reduce it a great deal — and if we were given the necessary powers, in 6—7 months, we could say that we don't have racism. he's the author of 16 books, and has presented more than a0 documentaries on art, history, and literature. now, simon schama has turned his talents to writing about a subject all of us know after the last few years. "foreign bodies: pandemics, vaccines and the health of nations" a listen to what he had to say. i wrote this book a million years ago when abraham lakin president, not really, called landscape and memory. and i taught an environmental course for a while. and there is a sense actually, which is obviously extremely urgent now, that what we

can do is circumscribe by the fate of the sustainable planet. but i felt as a city kid growing up as i was in the 1950s, in london, that nonetheless we take a lot of our relation with the weather. [30 nonetheless we take a lot of our relation with the weather. do you think, given _ relation with the weather. do you think, given what _ relation with the weather. do you think, given what we've - relation with the weather. do you think, given what we've been - relation with the weather. do you - think, given what we've been through over the last few years, with a pandemic in the debate around vaccines in different parts of the world, that lessons have been learned? ., ~' world, that lessons have been learned? ., ~ ., , learned? no. i think actually the roblem learned? no. i think actually the problem is. _ learned? no. i think actually the problem is, and _ learned? no. i think actually the problem is, and this _ learned? no. i think actually the problem is, and this is _ learned? no. i think actually the problem is, and this is the - learned? no. i think actually the problem is, and this is the heart| learned? no. i think actually the i problem is, and this is the heart of the matter, and i don't think i say this and so me words in the book — you always open the book and think, "i should've said that." one of the things i think i should have said more explicitly is that at this edge of history where we find ourselves, and all sorts of trouble, wars

happening we never thought would happening we never thought would happen again in europe, our vulnerability to the shower of infectious diseases, degradation, we find that the human condition is both capable of extraordinary genius, really, the kind of genius that promise vaccines — and at the same time, we are barely evolved ape—like creatures who tremble with paranoia, hysteria and irrationality. i grew up in the 19505 irrationality. i grew up in the 1950s with a history teacher who said that the enlightenment of 18th—century will take care of everything. the more knowledge and science has authority, ignorance will disappear. we find that not to be the case. on to your excellent question more directly, the scientists, virologists and microbiologists, the earliest generations describe stories and books, they learn from each other no

doubt. but virology as a discipline is under attack in the congress of the united states, they are somehow using pandemics as a pretext to steal people's individual rights over their own bodies. or worse, collaborating with china. fire over their own bodies. or worse, collaborating with china.- collaborating with china. are you caettin to collaborating with china. are you getting to the — collaborating with china. are you getting to the point _ collaborating with china. are you getting to the point that - collaborating with china. are you | getting to the point that basically, you're trying to say that no matter how involved we become in terms of our understanding of science, medicine and technology and how to use them and the vaccines, the human condition remains the same through the ages when it comes to things like paranoia? it’s the ages when it comes to things like paranoia?— like paranoia? it's very interesting, _ like paranoia? it's very interesting, we - like paranoia? it's very interesting, we tend i like paranoia? it's very| interesting, we tend to like paranoia? it's very - interesting, we tend to think like paranoia? it's very _ interesting, we tend to think about the emphasis on impulse and instinct that came to us with the romantic movement, as sort of coming after the super rational scientific enlightenment. but they were actually born at the same time, in the middle of the 18th century. so

it's not surprising that these terrible twins of our human condition march through history. what does it say to us? it's no good in sibley having a council of despair and fatalism saying crazy people out there who really will think that bill gates is inserting microchips into your arm, along with a vaccine — those of us in the camp of knowledge have to do a much betterjob of persuasion, and not simply laugh and sit here and chuckle at people who are unfortunately dangerously diluted in this way. i suppose writing books like this is, i hope, a form of persuasion. to have friends who are vaccine resistors? mi; persuasion. to have friends who are vaccine resistors?— vaccine resistors? my family and i crew u- vaccine resistors? my family and i grew up in — vaccine resistors? my family and i grew up in australia, _ vaccine resistors? my family and i grew up in australia, so _ vaccine resistors? my family and i grew up in australia, so i - vaccine resistors? my family and i grew up in australia, so i have - vaccine resistors? my family and i grew up in australia, so i have a l grew up in australia, so i have a lot of people in australia who were quite happy to have it turn into fortress australia, and were happy not to be vaccine vaccinated. so

that was part of the problem, i did know people who are hesitant about the vaccine and paranoid about it. it's funny because when i was looking at your book, you sort of talked about the idea of there being villains, and would you say in many ways the vaccine was the villain in all this? i ways the vaccine was the villain in all this? ., ways the vaccine was the villain in all this? ~ .. ., , �* all this? i think actually, we've had incredible _ all this? i think actually, we've had incredible benefits - all this? i think actually, we've had incredible benefits from i all this? i think actually, we've. had incredible benefits from the web, but it's also in some ways not done us favours. everybody responsible for this extraordinary miracle that is the world wide web thought it would result in the triumph of truth — which now seems like gallows humour almost in retrospect. ironically it's created echo chambers of disbelief, really, and conspiracy theories drive up ratings — social media clicks and so on, weirdly the more trouble we find ourselves in, the more hunt there is

for someone responsible for it. renowned historian and author simon schama there. you're watching bbc news. a three—day police search of the area around a reservoir in portugal, linked to the disappearance of british toddler madeleine mccann, has ended. the operation has been focused on the arade reservoir, in the algarve, about 30 miles from where the three—year—old disappeared in 2007. in a statement, portugese police said some material had been collected at the site and that was now being sent for testing. the chief constable of police scotland says that his force is institutionally racist, sexist, and discriminatory. sir iain livingstone, who is retiring this summer as head of the uk's second largest force says, it's important to acknowledge the reality of his officers' behaviour in order for there to be change. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. they are there to keep us all safe, but today, the chief constable of the uk's second—largest force

acknowledged that the public don't always get the service that is their right. that police scotland has to change. it's the right thing to do for me as chief constable, to clearly state that institutional racism, sexism, misogyny and discrimination exist. police scotland is institutionally racist and discriminatory. from the service provided to the public, to the culture within the force itself. rona malone, a formerfirearms officer received almost £1 million in damages after an employment tribunalfound she had been victimised after raising concerns about a boys' club culture in armed response. she welcomed today's comments, but... i'm angry because had this been identified years earlier, my court case might not have needed to have happened. it's notjust my case. there are other court cases going onjust now. you've got the chief constable coming out now admitting that it's

institutional, the problems. i would like to see him supporting officers that are currently going through their court casesjust now. there's also an ongoing public inquiry into the death of this man, sheku bayoh. the 31—year—old died after being restrained by police officers in kircaldy. the inquiries investigating the circumstances of his death and whether race was a factor. the family of sheku bayoh were extremely grateful, they were moved to tears. they thanked the chief constable for raising their voice for the truth. i would like to see the police service of scotland reflect the community that it serves. i would like to see those officers who are racist, who are misogynistic and homophobic, know that there is no role for them in the police service of scotland. scotland's first minister said he had personally experienced racism from the police. as a person of colour, the statement from the chief constable is monumental, historic.

i remember raising issues around racism in the police force back then, when i was stopped and searched over a dozen times as a young boy, so the acknowledgement of the chief constable is very welcome. this is the largest force to issue a public acknowledgement that it suffers from institutional racism and discrimination. the chief constable said it now needs to move beyond words and focus on action, but that acknowledging the issue existed was vital for real change to happen. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. hundreds of people have gathered at the raf central church, in westminster, for the funeral service of one of the last so—called "pilots of the caribbean". a public appeal on his behalf prompted a huge response. peter brown, who came to the uk from jamaica to volunteer with the raf during the second world war, helena wilkinson reports. on a warm spring day in central london, flight sergeant peter brown's final journey.

his coffin draped with the union flag. on top, the medals he was awarded during the second world war. born injamaica, he travelled thousands of miles as a teenager to the uk to volunteer with the royal air force during world war ii. he flew in lancaster bombers when he served in 625 squadron. # happy birthday... peter brown spent decades living in london — this is him celebrating his 93rd birthday. but when he died, he had no known relatives. organisers of his funeral were inundated with requests from the public who wanted to attend. and today, they were joined by former and current raf personnel. for me when i read the story, i thought, "well, i am emboldened

to come down and attend on the day because you have got to come down." the thing is he has always got a family. i know initially he didn't have a close family to hand, but he has always got a family once he's in the forces and that's why i'm here. to have the last veteran of that time from the caribbean, and to be able to come together today to remember that, to respect that and reflect on how important it was, it means a great deal to everybody. our intention was originallyl that we would go to the pub and have a drink in his memory. peter brown's neighbours, who knew him for decades, helped to organise today's service and remember a quiet, modest man. the only time he really opened up was when i introduced him - to my seven—year—old grandson, who at that time was crazy- about all things aircraft, _ and he talked to him in some detail about his time in the raf, i flying in lancaster bombers. among those in the congregation today were distant relatives who had been traced and travelled from jamaica.

his legacy will live on in the minds and hearts of a lot of people who have connected with this story, and most importantly he will live on in the legacy of our family. peter brown's funeral service reflected all parts of his life, remembering a special man who gave up his freedom as a teenager to serve this country. helena wilkinson, bbc news, central london. that's it from me and the team, here's darren with the weather. hello there. it was nice and warm once again today where you had the sunshine, and most of scotland did see the sunshine. but it wasn't sunny everywhere — we did see some cloud developing, particularly across parts of yorkshire, that kept it a little bit cooler here. and there will be differences day to day over the next few days, in terms of the amounts of cloud. but this high pressure will be quite constant, keeping it dry just about everywhere. there'll still be some cloud

as we head through the night in some areas, but on the whole, we'll see clearer skies developing and, with light winds, temperatures will fall away. and it could be quite chilly, particularly in eastern scotland first thing on friday morning. there will still be some leftover cloud first thing in the day, and through the day, we'll see cloud toppling into the northwest of scotland, bringing a few spots of drizzle. otherwise it should be dry and on the whole, elsewhere, more sunshine in the morning, more cloud building up and spreading out overland in the afternoon. now the far south of england and through the english channel may stay sunny, but only because it's likely to be quite windy here — and there'll be an edge to that wind, it'll make it feel chillier, as well. but where the winds are lighter further north, and we have some sunshine at times, temperatures will reach 20—21 celsius. heading into the bank holiday weekend, looks quite promising, dry for many parts of the country, but temperatures will be dropping as the weekend goes on. now we've still got high pressure sitting close by into saturday, but low pressure is moving away from iceland, squeezing the isobars tighter.

the winds will get stronger in scotland and northern ireland, blowing ing more cloud, actually, and we'll see a little bit of rain in the far northwest. some cloud building up in northern parts of england and north wales. otherwise, plenty of sunshine to the south, and not as windy as on friday. our temperatures reaching a healthy 20—23 celsius, pleasant enough. it will be cooler in scotland and northern ireland. we've got the cooler weather behind that weak weather front bringing that little bit of rain — that moves away, and high pressure builds back in through the bank holiday weekend, but the cooler out moves down from the north. it looks like on sunday, we'll find after a reasonably sunny start, the cloud will build up in many areas, it should be dry, light winds for many away from the south and southeast. but temperatures dropping in northern and eastern areas of the uk, higher temperatures in the southwest. more sunshine, but cooler on monday.

hello, i'm ben thompson. you're watching the context on bbc news. translation: we are handing - over our positions to the military - ammunition, positions, everything, including food rations. this is the head of wagner group. he wanted to show that his forces could do what the russian military could not do and he has hailed this as a great victory for his forces. now he's trying to save them now. we're going to keep- strengthening ukraine's position on the battlefield. we're going to get ukraine's defenders what they need, i when they need it. we're going to remain united. we're going to stand by ukraine for as long as it takes. -