today at six: ten—month—old finley boden, who was murdered by his parents on christmas day in 2020 — his killers are jailed for 29 and 27 years. finley was taken from his parents at birth by social services but then returned to them 39 days before he died. during sentencing, stephen boden and shannon marsden were described as "persuasive and accomplished liars" who "brutally assaulted" their son. they used the covid pandemic to hide their actions. you continued to abuse him, and you lied that he had covid so that no one would see him and remove him from your care, and in doing so, you subjected your own baby son to unimaginable cruelty.

also on today's programme: nationwide puts up its mortgage rates by 0.45% — and other lenders also increase the cost of new deals. the kent hospital where the maternity unit was almost shut down by inspectors as basic hygiene was not observed. a medicalfacility in ukraine is destroyed by a russian missile strike, killing two people and injuring over 20. and british cycling says it'll ban transgender women from elite female competition. and coming up on bbc news... three teams, two relegation places to avoid. leicester leeds and everton head into the final weekend of the premier league hoping to secure their survival.

good evening. the parents of 10—month—old finley boden have been sentenced today for his murder on christmas day in 2020. his mother, shannon marsden, was given a minimum of 27 years and his father, stephen boden, a minimum of 29 years. finley had been taken by social services soon after he was born, but was given back to his parents 39 days before he died. during sentencing, thejudge justice amanda tipples said that medical help in the minutes and hours before the baby's death would have saved his life. ina in a moment we will hear about how his parents used the covid pandemic to hide their actions. our midlands correspondent phil mackie is at derby combined court. i'm afraid here we are again talking about the death of a child at the hands of the people who should have been looking after him, and in whom he should have been able to trust, and once more we are talking about a

case in which questions are being asked as to whether or not the authorities might have been able to do something to intervene to save his life. for the first nine months of his life, finley boden, who had been taken into care shortly after birth, thrived. he was safe and happy. in a statement read out in court, his family called him a happy, chuckling baby. they described his parents, stephen boden and shannon marsden, as monstrous. he died on christmas day 2020, just weeks after being returned to their care. he'd suffered 130 separate injuries. it's absolutely incomprehensible and despicable what they have done. they are truly reprehensible with no consequence for what actions they could've done. and you've covered lots of cases like this. in terms of what you have seen and heard and witnessed... the injuries are the most horrific that i've seen, and the fact that they had the opportunity to seek medical attention for that child and failed

to do so simply for their own means is beyond words. the bbc�*s uncovered documents which relate to the decision to return finley to his parents�* care. it shows how they pretended to have turned their chaotic lives around. it was at the height of the pandemic, which meant they were able to keep people at arm's length. these are the pictures of their home which they presented at a crucial family court hearing. this was the reality. finley died in abject squalor. they wanted people to think that they were a happy family. instead of caring for their son, they cared more about buying cannabis. during their trial they attempted to shift the blame, and even today showed no remorse. having brutally assaulted finley on at least two occasions, you continued to abuse him, and you lied that he had covid so that no one would see him and remove him from your care. in doing so, you subjected your own

baby son to unimaginable cruelty. the pair have returned to jail knowing they will spend most — if not all — of the rest of their lives there. a safeguarding review is being carried out to see whether anything could've been done to save their little boy's life. phil mackie, bbc news, derby. joining me now is sanchia berg, who's been looking at this case. what does it make part of what marks this case out is the way the parents used covid. this case out is the way the parents used covid-— this case out is the way the parents used covid. yes. from court papers obtained, used covid. yes. from court papers obtained. we _ used covid. yes. from court papers obtained, we can _ used covid. yes. from court papers obtained, we can see _ used covid. yes. from court papers obtained, we can see that - used covid. yes. from court papers obtained, we can see thatjust - used covid. yes. from court papersj obtained, we can see thatjust after his birth, finley�*s parents try to get him back and used the family court to try to get to do that. because of covid, they couldn't be visited by the social workers, so they sent photos instead, and they couldn't meet social workers and be scrutinised in the same way. we saw from the criminal court that that

happened in the lead up to finley�*s death when they had got him back because they used covid again to keep the professionals away. on this occasion, they said finley had covid. obviously this begs the question, given we've had so many high profile child deaths in recent years, many during that covid period, is this something of a phenomenon on? i spoke to an expert in this area who scrutinises all the data around these cases, and she said there is some kind of impact but it is too early to say what the real picture is. the kind of granular detail we got from the family court document is valuable. she also sounded a warning that the legacy of covid when it comes to child protection is very much still with us. ., ~ , ., child protection is very much still with us. ., ~' , ., , child protection is very much still with us. ., ~ ,, , . the uk's biggest building society, the nationwide, has raised its mortgage rates again. it follows this week's figures which showed that inflation — that's the rate at which prices are going up — had slowed less than expected.

it's stoked concern that the bank of england will have to continue to raise interest rates for longer to try to reduce inflation. our business correspondent, marc ashdown, is here. nationwide is among lots of mortgage lenders who are putting their rates up. for new borrowers and those looking to re—mortgage, the average deal on the market for a two—year fixed—rate mortgage is now 5.35%. for a longerfive—year deal it's 5.02%. that's bad news for anyone looking for a mortgage deal, like self—employed blacksmith ian in dorset. it looks as though our repayments are going to be an additional £400 — £500 each month. this is particularly unwelcome news after a very difficult winter, with food, fuel price increases. the main driving factor here is the inflation rate. that's how fast prices are rising.

look how it's gone up and up over the past few years. it does appear to have peaked but is still running at 8.7%. that's still higher than hoped. this chart shows the interest the government has to pay back on money it borrows to fund things like public spending. when there's less confidence in the uk economy, the rate goes up. you can see after the mini budget last autumn, the cost of borrowing for the government spiked. it has stabilised after confidence was restored, but has crept up again. that's a worry for the bank of england, which uses its base rate to try and bring the cost of living down. for a year now the bank has been putting the rate up. it's currently at 4.5%. analysts now think the rate might have to rise to 5.5% by the end of the year, before hopefully coming down next year if price rises continue to ease. but for millions of people, mortgage deals are already more expensive than a year ago. payments for a mortgage of £200,000

over 25 years would now cost £370 a month more compared to this time last year. reeta. marc, thank you. a new mother left in blood—stained sheets for three days, health staff who failed to wash their hands after each patient, and life—saving equipment not in the right place — all features of a maternity unit in kent which inspectors found so poor it was almost shut down. officials visited the william harvey hospital in ashford injanuary, after a damning report which found at least 45 babies might have survived with better care from the east kent hospitals trust. its chief executive has apologised. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan has this special report. the errors kept coming. our son harry died because of a number of serious and preventable failures. years of harm...

some days di i want to go out and face the big, wide world. at least 45 babies who may have survived. no one spotted what was going on. they could have saved ten. and yet care has not improved. sweetheart! ambrose chapman is healthy and happy, but his mother, philippa, will never forget his birth. should we put you back and then you can go forward? labour wasn't progressing well, so exhausted and in pain, philippa asked for an epidural but was told the clinicians were too busy to help her. at this point, they said as well as his head swelling, he was getting distressed. they said, well, what we have to do is wait until either your life is in danger or his life is in danger before we can bump you up the queue, which was terrifying to hear. after two hours of worrying, staff at the william harvey hospital safely delivered ambrose by forceps and episiotomy. but he soon developed jaundice, necessitating a hospital stay.

three days of which philippa spent in the same place sheets she'd given birth on. the cleaner had come round to mop the floor and had heard me previously asking for clean sheets, and had seen the midwife run off and not come back. she said had they not changed your sheets yet? she said i've had enough of this and she went and got a midwife, said to the midwife, she is still in dirty sheets. she's changing her baby on plenty sheets. ——she's changing her baby on bloody sheets. get her a clean bed. to many families are having a poor experience in east camden, according to the care quality commission. inspectors found multiple examples of inadequate practices, staff routinely in some areas didn't wash their hands after treating patients. life—saving equipment wasn't in the right areas, posing a high risk of delay and emergency treatment, and staff didn't have the skills or experience to keep women safe. we have learned that inspectors were so concerned about the quality of care that they wrote to nhs england, asking them to draw up contingency plans in case they had to close inpatient maternity facilities, a highly unusual move and insight into the gravity of their concerns.

i know that i am definitely not the only one who's taking antidepressants whilst on the midwifery horse. ——on the midwifery course. this woman spent a year in 2020 working as a student midwife in the william harvey hospital. she says she often ended shifts in tears, felt wholly unsupported and began suffering from anxiety before quitting midwifery. if people are being rude about other people behind their back, you are not going to work well as a team. and that's when things happen and things go wrong. the trust say they have hired more staff and changed some working practices. we fully accept what seek had recommended ——cqc had recommended that we do. they called for immediate action, and we have responded to that, and they seem satisfied with what we've done. but that still leaves an awful lot of other things to do.

ambrose recently celebrated his first birthday, but his parents fear having another baby certainly in east kent, other women have apparently already started avoiding the trust. michael buchanan, bbc news, kent. ukraine has faced another heavy night of russian missile and drone attacks. this is a medical clinic in dnipro in the east — ablaze after it was hit by a missile — where at least two people died and at least 31 people were injured, including two boys aged under six. president zelensky described the attack as "another crime against humanity" and said russia had "chosen the path of evil of its own will." ukrainian authorities said they shot down 17 missiles and 31 drones launched from russia overnight. other cities, including kharkiv and the capital, kyiv, were also targeted. our ukraine correspondentjames waterhouse has travelled to dnipro and sent this report. another difficult day for ukrainian cities. this time it's dnipro with the most acute of impacts. a psychiatric clinic on the receiving end of a ballistic missile.

after a brief reprieve, russia has resumed its tactic of targeting civilian areas. this is the residual threat that people have to live with, the idea that something like this could happen at any point, in any city. the authorities are sadly well practised in dealing with the consequences of russia's tactics. it's almost a dignified efficiency. these are the signature signs of the ballistic missile. people say the explosion happened before the sirens could react. they are harder to detect and shoot down. in city scrubs we meet vasil, whose veterinary surgery was also destroyed. translation: i am grieving now. a person was killed, a hospital was destroyed. we were saving lives here nearly every day. i was so much involved in this. for the director

of this clinic, this was the passion of his life. ukraine has spent another night under russian drones and missiles. almost 50 were shot down, we are told. translation: the thing is, russia's now irritated, - especially in recent days, when our air defence is becoming more powerful, and when they become irritated they send their missiles everywhere. strikes like this don't tend to influence the battlefield, but they do exhaust defences and ruin lives. james waterhouse, bbc news, dnipro. as you can see, the damp weather is helping with putting the fire out but the question now shifts to why russia has deliberately targeted hospitals in previous conflicts as well as this one. there is a chance it could have used an inaccurate rocket or it could have been debut from air defences although looking

at the force of the very explosion that seems less likely. that is a suggestion kyiv has long been comfortable with. the last senior adviser to suggest that was fired. thanks very much. british airways has apologised to passengers for the disruption caused by it difficulties. the airline has cancelled flights for the second day running after a technical issue resulted in staff being in the wrong place. our correspondent sarah campbell is at heathrow for us now. sarah, just how bad is it? i think it is the timing really that is the most unfortunate. it is the start of half term in england and wales, airports are busy, heathrow saying today in terms of passenger numbers the busiest day since before the pandemic so hugely frustrating for the something like 16,000 passengers who have been caught up as a result of this it glitch. just to give you the figures around 90 flights cancelled yesterday, 80 flights cancelled yesterday, 80 flights cancelled yesterday, 80 flights cancelled today. to put that into context, that is around one in

ten of their daily flights. mainly short—haul, mainly out of heathrow terminal five. short—haul, mainly out of heathrow terminalfive. i am short—haul, mainly out of heathrow terminal five. i am told the glitch has now been fixed. those cancellations today have been as a result of knock—on problems with pilots in wrong places. coincidentally we are on day two of a three—day strike involving security staff. i am told that is not causing any problems. british airways say they aren't expecting any more cancellations as a result of that it glitch but that passengers should check their bookings before travelling to the airport. —— any more cancellations as a result of that strike. the time is 6. our top story this evening: the parents of ten—month—old finley boden are sentenced to 27 and 29 years in prison for his murder on christmas day in 2020. and coming up: they're the talk of the terraces — can luton town win the championship play—off and host the premier league's biggest stars at their humble home?

the coming up on bbc news... one game away from four in a row. chelsea are in ple position end the most—watched and most competitive women's super league season as champions once again. british cycling is to ban transgender women from the female category of its competitions, after a nine—month review and consultation. under the new rules, trans athletes will compete in an �*open category�* with men — who will see their catagory disappear. the changes will prevent emily bridges, the country's highest—profile transgender cyclist, from being part of the british women's team. bridges has accused british cycling of engaging in "culture wars" and called the change a "violent act" by a "failed organisation." our sports editor, dan roan, has more. it's known as the country's most successful olympic sport but for the past year british cycling has faced a dilemma over its policy towards the participation of transgender women riders

and today following a review it announced they would be banned from the female category across its competitive events and instead compete together with men in a new open category. the man in charge of the sport told me why there was a need for change. we will define the female category as the athletes who are female by sex at birth and the open category available to all other riders. the overriding principle of the competitive policy is around fairness and that has been put together on the basis of the consultation and also medical research that we have available. the news dashes emily bridges�* dream of being part of the british women�*s team at the olympics, one of sport�*s high profile trans women athletes last year having reduced her testosterone level to meet the rules, she was barred from competing in a first elite women�*s event by cycling�*s world federation amid the threat of a boycott by some rivals. british cycling now says while medical research is limited it

does indicate that even with testosterone suppression transgender women who transition post—puberty retain performance advantage. she and others will say that this is discriminatory. it is really important for us to ensure that all athletes remain welcome but all athletes have clarity about their ability to compete. an enormous amount of sympathy with both emily and any other rider affected by this. in a lengthy statement, bridges said... transgender participation has become one of the thorniest issues facing sport as they search for a way to balance inclusion with safety and fairness. but amid mounting controversy british cycling has now become just the latest to ban transgender women from female events. swimming, athletics, rugby, and triathlon all adopting similar approaches over the past year.

transgender riders will continue to face no restrictions in recreational and community cycling but it is in competitive events where the sport has taken a new direction. dan roan — bbc news. a man found guilty of murdering a one—year—old boy, aided by the child�*s mother, has been jailed for at least 32 years. jacob lennon was subjected to what police called a campaign of "cruel and sadistic abuse" before being killed byjake drummond, a cocaine addict and the boyfriend of his mother, louise lennon. she was sentenced to ten years. our correspondent sonja jessop is here. joining me now is home affairs correspondent, sonja jessup. this case was described by one senior police officer is the saddest he had seen in his 30 year career. jacob lennon was 15 months old when he was killed in august 2019. his injuries were described as sadistic.

his bedroom was described as a torture chamber. and the man who murdered him was jake jarman. torture chamber. and the man who murdered him wasjakejarman. he torture chamber. and the man who murdered him was jake jarman. he had a history of violence and drug use. he started a relationship with jacob�*s mother a few months previous. —— jake jacob�*s mother a few months previous. ——jake drummond. not only did she not get her son any help, she lied to social services and she was found guilty of causing or allowing her son�*s death. they were both jailed. lennon forten allowing her son�*s death. they were both jailed. lennon for ten years, jake drummond for 32 years. thank ou ve jake drummond for 32 years. thank you very much- _ the army has said it is �*deeply sorry�* for �*systemic failings�* which led to the suicide of a 21—year—old officer cadet at sandhurst royal military academy. olivia perks took her own life at the elite training college in berkshire in february 2019. olivia�*s mother says her daughter could still have been alive today, had the right support been available. she�*s been speaking to our defence correspondentjonathan beale.

it�*s supposed to be one of the world�*s most prestigious military academies. but the grand facade of sandhurst had a culture of heavy drinking and prohibited relationships between instructors and their cadets. it only came to light after the tragic death of a 21—year—old cadet, olivia perks. today, a coroner ruled it was suicide and could�*ve been avoided. her mother vindicated that her daughter had been let down by the army. she may well have been with us now if the right support, the right... ..netting had been put in place, really. safeguarding. she wasn�*t... i don�*t feel that she was safeguarded adequately. the welfare support wasn�*t in place for her when she needed it, when she was clearly demonstrating behaviours that were of concern.

i think boxing's been a great sport. i've always watched it before. this is how many remember liv, vivacious and bubbly. she loved sport and won an award for the most courageous boxer. but she was also anxious and stressed. there�*d already been an incident of self—harm. the warning signs not properly followed up. another drunken night after a sandhurst ball ended up with liv in the same room as an instructor. the rumours spread and she was convinced she�*d be thrown out. she was found dead in her room days later. we are deeply sorry for the systemic and individual failings within the royal military academy sandhurst which led to the tragic death of olivia perks in february 2019. much more should and could�*ve been done to support her. because you're a role model... sandhurst says it�*s already learned lessons. last month, it invited the media

to see its work to tackle what it politely calls "unacceptable behaviours." though the army itself has acknowledged there was a predatory toxic culture. the coroner said if adequate welfare measures had been in place, it could�*ve prevented liv�*s death. jonathan beale, bbc news, reading coroner�*s court. a remote area of sea bed being explored for its precious metals has led to scientists discovering more than 5,000 new species. the clarion clipperton zone in the pacific ocean is an area roughly twice the size of india with depths of up to 6,000 metres. the strange creatures living there have evolved in isolation over the course of millions of years in the cold, dark conditions of the ocean floor. this is luton town�*s kenilworth road ground which could be hosting premier league games next season. it�*s less than a decade since luton were playing non—league football, but tomorrow they take on coventry city, who themselves have had a rapid rise

through the leagues after overcoming financial and stadium problems. their match, the championship play—off final at wembley, is being billed as the most lucrative in football, worth an estimated £170 million to the winner, as natalie pirks reports. luton town are wembley bound! after more than 30 years without top—flight football, the hatters are close to the promised land once more. i�*m over the moon. we are going to wembley. come on! they achieved it in a stadium that is quite literally close to their hearts. kenilworth road is unique. the plastic pitch may be gone but locals still live cheek byjowl, their gardens butting up to the away stand. a new stadium beckons. but first they would need to spend £10 million on upgrading this tiny one. we will make sure the old girl looks great and when she�*s ready she will have that dress on. # luton town will never die #.

luton�*s ceo helped to rescue the club from despair. in 2008 they were docked a soul destroying 30 points by the fa for various financial issues and doomed to non—league football. they are now on the verge of their fourth promotion in nine years. it�*s got a beating heart like no other town i know. it�*s got soul. it�*s the perfect example of how equality and diversity can come together. let�*s embrace what we�*ve got here. you know, this is a real life, this is real football. maqsood from the neighbouring mosque agrees. his windows were smashed by the way fans in the 80s, now worshippers hand out chocolates to fans. yeah, the kenny is wonderful. once it�*s full up, the noise is just incredible, and you can hear it from, you know, a mile away sort of thing. well, it would be incredible to see the biggest players here but unlike luton, coventry city were once a premier league side. they had a team full of stars but they suffered their own riches to rags story.

still strachan. dublin! coventry fans were used to glory but in 2001 the dream soured. coventry city are relegated to the first division. after this, debts mounted, they had no permanent home, and they tumbled down to league 2. but last week... gus hamer scores! ..bars were packed. and the streets were buzzing. # and we are going to wembley #. victory tomorrow would seal their third promotion in five years. it�*s a premier league club with premier league fans and now the team are showing that they could be a premier league side as well. this final is one for the romantics. both clubs have been the butt of footballing jokes. at wembley one of them will have the last laugh. natalie pirks, bbc news. before we go, take a look at this.

this is an asiana airlines flight, after a passenger opened an emergency exit door as the plane was coming in to land in south korea. it happened in the skies above the city of daegu. you can imagine how terrified the passengers must have been, but the flight managed to land relatively safely. nine teenagers were sent to hospital with breathing problems, and a man has been detained. time for a look at the weather. bank holiday, sunshine, is it possible? it looks like it should be. there will be some cloud so not completely clear skies but a nice speu completely clear skies but a nice spell of weather with temperatures easing off a little as the bank holiday weekend progresses. skies like these across most of the uk today, cloud popping up, and the warmest spot is again seeing temperatures into the low 20s. that is a long way above the average for may. 6 degrees warmer than average if you like. there is the satellite

picture, fair weather cloud across northern england and the north midlands. in the atlantic, our next weather system waiting to come in and this will bring thicker cloud to the north of the uk, overnight and into tomorrow, and a waft of cooler air, as well. overnight we will see some patches of rain getting in to the north—west of scotland. it is mainly the hebrides, highlands, orkney and shetland is at the risk of some damp weather but the rain won�*t be too extensive. south of that, lots of dry and sunny weather and some pretty reasonable temperatures. as this weather front comes through, particularly across orkney, temperatures will take a dive through the afternoon, looking at highs of 12 degrees. further south, northern ireland, england and wales, temperatures widely high teens to low 20s. across parts of northern england, the midlands and central southern england, 23 degrees down the spine of the country. sunday, patchy cloud in the north—west but another day where most of us will see long spells of sunshine. the highest temperatures

at this stage down toward south—west