and the bbc has reports of 17—year—old boy in a12—year—old girl who 17—year—old boy in a 12—year—old girl who died in the water near bournemouth were not hit by a vessel in the water. here in the uk, the deadline has now passed for the government to hand overformer prime minister borisjohnson�*s unredacted whatsapp messages to an inquiry related to the coronavirus pandemic. the to the coronavirus pandemic. baroness hasjust the to the coronavirus pandemic. baroness has just ser message the baroness has just sent out a message demanding the messages as they have demanded the messages along with notebooks and diaries to be handed out about three hours ago now at four p:m.. the cabinet office argued material was not relevant but mrjohnson appears to have added pressure on ministers by saying he was happy for the messages to be handed over unredacted to the inquiry. we can try and make sense of all this with our political

correspondent ben wright. good to see used to talk us through what is going on here. i see used to talk us through what is going on here-— going on here. i think the main event today is _ going on here. i think the main event today is still— going on here. i think the main event today is still the - going on here. i think the main event today is still the fact - going on here. i think the mainj event today is still the fact that the government are bringing a review against the inquiry, the covid—19 inquiry because it does not want to hand over unredacted whatsapp messages, diaries and it looks as demanded by inquiry route has been going on for weeks as baroness hallett gave the government till 4pm today to hand over the material but the government digging in and now wants it settled at the high court. it does not feel the remit of the inquiry stretches to secure the unredacted, unedited documents the baroness is asked for savannah will go off to the high court. separately borisjohnson, the former prime minister, hasjust released borisjohnson, the former prime minister, has just released a letter that he has sent to the chair of the inquiry saying that in his youth he is completely happy to hand over his

unredacted notebooks and whatsapp messages without witnessing to resist the review. he says there is no reason one that cannot happen but he says if they wish to have the material forthwith, please let me know where and when you wish me to send it to you. that sorta repeats something a spokesperson said for him yesterday. the former promised or is trying hard to say that he is not trying to conceal anything in his far is he is concerned, he wants the inquiry to have all of this stuff. but there was another very interesting life in the documents to government released a few hours ago where they said that the documents that they had from mrjohnson did not go back before may the 20 of 21. they did not have his whatsapp messages before then because in a well—publicized event, borisjohnson changed his phone number because his old number was publicly available on the internet. so there is now a separate wrangle around the historic

messages on borisjohnson's phone and a source close to him is that they are more than happy to restart that phone, to ask you old messages if the cabinet office can help them securely access it. that's another rumbling part of this route. interesting and on the legal challenge, how will this be received and perceived?— and perceived? certainly opposition arties and perceived? certainly opposition parties have — and perceived? certainly opposition parties have left _ and perceived? certainly opposition parties have left on _ and perceived? certainly opposition parties have left on it, _ and perceived? certainly opposition parties have left on it, saying - and perceived? certainly opposition parties have left on it, saying it - parties have left on it, saying it appears the government is trying to cover this up, that they are trying to muddy the waters here. and i think that it certainly may feel that these critics who think this is not being done in the most transparent way and it's a step back from this and the government has set “p from this and the government has set up the public inquiry in this almighty row about some of the basic material that the inquiry has asked for. i think many might look at this and think this risks potentially undermining the work of this inquiry before it is even started. qm.

before it is even started. 0k, absolutely — before it is even started. 0k, absolutely fascinating. thank you for letting us through that step by step so clearly, ben, appreciate that, thank you. to iran now. thousands of political prisoners are held in iran's jails there, with them seven environmentalists. they were sent to prison in 2018 for spying, although no evidence has ever been produced. this is the prison. we've spoken to someone who was also held here. she returned to the uk last year, but is now speaking out for the first time. caroline hawley reports. aras ameeri should now be able to look forward in her life. she's free, back in the uk and pregnant with her first child. but every day, her mind goes back to the prison where she was held for three years and to the friends she made there. it can be an experience that breaks many people. it has a long—lasting effect on each of us. aras was held in a much—feared jail.

like other political prisoners, she spent time in solitary confinement. she was interrogated around the clock, blindfolded and threatened. she still has nightmares about her time there. lack of freedom is the hardest thing. the unfairness... still in evin is a woman who became friends with nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe, who became her best friend injail. serving a ten—year sentence. they were so fun and lively and generous. they are so much loved by all the prisoners. why them? there has been that pressure on environmentalists in iran who were doing their own job on conserving nature and wildlife in iran. also imprisoned was her husband, here tracking leopard footprints. this is a photo he took of a critically endangered asiatic cheetah. and this cheetah cub was being looked after by the group.

while tracking wild cheetahs with cameras, they were accused of spying, although even members of iran's government have acknowledged there's no evidence. it is incredibly unfair. every day that they're in prison, and i think already that they have been through so much. ijust want them to be able to be back to theirfamilies, their loved ones, nature, and to protect iran's again, which is what they have been always doing and so dedicated to. the director of the persian wildlife heritage foundation died in suspicious circumstances in 2018 while under interrogation. this man co—founded the group. he has british and american citizenship, and his family hoped he would be released alongside nazanin zaghari—ratcliffe last year. but he is still being held. alongside these others. aras told me they're not only important scientists, but inspiring human beings.

they really shared with us the love that they have for nature. the fact that they are still kept in, that's really heartbreaking and a big loss for iran. she thinks of them every day and says her heart burns for them and for all they've endured. caroline hawley, bbc news. for more on this we can speak now to erik solheim, the former un under—secretary general and formerly the executive director of the un environment programme agency. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the programme. iran programme. it's my pleasure. iran sa s the programme. it's my pleasure. iran says the people — programme. it's my pleasure. iran says the people were _ programme. it's my pleasure. iran says the people were spying - programme. it's my pleasure. iran says the people were spying so - programme. it's my pleasure. iran l says the people were spying so what is your understanding of what they were doing? this is your understanding of what they were doing?— is your understanding of what they were doinu? , _, ,,. were doing? this is a most respected worker in the — were doing? this is a most respected worker in the environment _ were doing? this is a most respected worker in the environment and - were doing? this is a most respected worker in the environment and doing | worker in the environment and doing great work in many global circumstances. then for love of her

nation, she wanted to go back to her nation, she wanted to go back to her nation because she loved iran and the nature of a run if she really wanted to conserve and protect the asian sheet at which is a most endangered species. and all of a sudden out of the blue, she was arrested with the other people you mentioned in the programme, and it makes absolutely no sense. so mentioned in the programme, and it makes absolutely no sense.- mentioned in the programme, and it makes absolutely no sense. so why do ou think makes absolutely no sense. so why do you think they — makes absolutely no sense. so why do you think they were _ makes absolutely no sense. so why do you think they were picked _ makes absolutely no sense. so why do you think they were picked up - makes absolutely no sense. so why do you think they were picked up by - you think they were picked up by the authorities in iran? that you think they were picked up by the authorities in iran?— authorities in iran? that is very, very hard _ authorities in iran? that is very, very hard for— authorities in iran? that is very, very hard for me _ authorities in iran? that is very, very hard for me to _ authorities in iran? that is very, very hard for me to judge. - authorities in iran? that is very, very hard for me to judge. i - authorities in iran? that is very, l very hard for me to judge. i mean very hard for me tojudge. i mean some people may believe their own propaganda or some wanted to make a case, i cannot speak or speculate on that. what is for sure is that they set up cameras to monitor that she does because in modern times, if you want to modern lot wildlife, protect wildlife, you need to do it in a modern, high—tech way and that is what they did. and of course the accusation that these cameras were sent there for spying has no

meaning. they were set up to protect one of their really important species in the world for protection. i see, and how do you go about trying to get them released? i think eve one trying to get them released? i think everyone with _ trying to get them released? i think everyone with any _ trying to get them released? i think everyone with any influence - trying to get them released? i think everyone with any influence at - trying to get them released? i think everyone with any influence at the l everyone with any influence at the un, governments should call for their release. there is a signature campaign and people can sign for release and they should make the point that they're one and only purpose was to protect the beauty of iran. they were not into harming anyone. they were not opposing anyone, they really wanted to protect the beauty of this nation called iran. protect the beauty of this nation called iran-_ protect the beauty of this nation called iran. ~ ., ., ,, ~' called iran. what do you think the chances are _ called iran. what do you think the chances are that _ called iran. what do you think the chances are that they _ called iran. what do you think the chances are that they will - called iran. what do you think the chances are that they will be - chances are that they will be released. how optimistic are you? is at least very good to note that she is keeping her spirits even under these most difficult circumstances

in the prison. she has even made studies of the environment, the climate consciousness around the prisoners in the prison. so she is keeping up her spirit, and the rest of the group, we should be optimistic and try to get her out, but it should happen tomorrow because there is no reason for her to be kept in prison.— because there is no reason for her to be kept in prison. thank you very much for coming _ to be kept in prison. thank you very much for coming on _ to be kept in prison. thank you very much for coming on and _ to be kept in prison. thank you very much for coming on and talking - to be kept in prison. thank you very much for coming on and talking to l much for coming on and talking to us, thank you. much for coming on and talking to us. thank yon-— around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. bbc news, bringing you different stories from across the uk. nasa want to return to the moon in the near future. they've heard about the famous potholes of 0rpington and decided that some of the potholes have a remarkable resemblance to moon craters. 0rpington resident tim webb has found a creative way to highlight the issue of potholes. he's turning them in the art using the help of some bath—time friends in an attempt to speed up repairs.

i post it on various facebook groups, and i'm amazed at the number of likes i get, sometimes into the hundreds. and people seem to enjoy and understand my sense of humour. bromley council says harsh winter conditions has meant the number of repairjobs has gone up, but it is investing more money into solving the problem. i have used the official channels, and because i've been doing this for a while and some of the potholes hadn't been resolved, i decided to try a slightly different approach, which is why i went down this route in particular. for more stories from across the uk, head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. to australia now. the country's most decorated living soldier has lost a defamation lawsuit which was brought against three newspapers who had accused him of war crimes in afghanistan. ben roberts—smith, a former corporal in the australian special forces known as the sas,

sued the papers over a series of articles alleging he killed unarmed prisoners. but the judge ruled that the newspapers had proven that most of their reports were substantially true. robin brant reports. corporal ben roberts—smith. he was an icon in his own country. a war hero, honoured by the head of state no less. the victoria cross on his chest testament to ben roberts—smith's bravery. australia's highest military honour was given to him in 2011 for single—handedly overpowering taliban machine guns. the federal court of australia is now in session. but a court has now ruled that newspaper reports of four claims of murder during his time in afghanistan were substantially true. the applicant's conduct and actions on the mission to w108 as found means that the respondents have established the substantial truth. the trial was a first

of its kind in australia. it centred on events during 2009 and 2012, as australia's military continued its role in the allied effort to try to defeat the taliban. it heard claims he'd pushed a hand—cuffed farmer off of a cliff, details of a captured taliban fighter who was shot in the back ten times, and that he'd ordered two killings, as an initiation for new recruits. today is a day ofjustice. it's a day ofjustice for those brave men of the sas who stood up and told the truth about who ben roberts—smith is — a war criminal, a bully and a liar. there was a crowd outside, but roberts—smith wasn't in court to hear the ruling. he denied all six murder claims against him, saying five were lawful, the other didn't happen. this was a civil trial, it's not criminal — the burden of proof is lower. but the man seen by many australians as the embodiment of heroism now has a much tarnished reputation. the newspapers who

exposed him, vindicated. robin brant, bbc news. for more on the significance of this case, here's our reporter courtney bembridge in the newsroom. the case was dubbed by some in australia as a trail of the century. it lasted 110 days, cost around $16 million us, and heard from a0 witnesses, including former and current sas soldiers, and afghan villagers and a government minister. it was a civil trial and the first time that a court has assessed allegations of war crimes by australian forces. it comes at the time of increased sensitivity around australia's military after a 2020 report found credible evidence that australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 civilians and prisoners in afghanistan. here is australia's defence chief talking about those allegations back in 2020. these findings allege the most serious breaches of military conduct and professional values.

the ben roberts—smith case is seen as a litmus test for allegations of australian wrongdoing in afghanistan. 0ne war historian, peter stanley, said it's a precursor to the major series of war crimes investigations, allegations, prosecutions and possibly convictions that we'll see over the next few years. well, in march of this year, this man became the first australian current or former serviceman to be charged with a war crime under australian law. he was charged with murder over this incident, allegedly showing the soldier killing an afghan man in 2012. this video was obtained by australian media, but this case has yet to go to trial. we're going to go back to iran. a human rights group says iran has executed more than 300 people so far this year. that's a 75% increase compared to the same period last year.

the norway—based group iran human rights says nearly 150 of those sentences were carried out last month alone. most executions were for drug—related charges. but seven men were hanged in cases related to the large protests you may remember. after the death in custody of the young woman mahsa amini. she'd been accused of breaking iran's dress code for women. campaigners say iran is carrying out more executions to try to deterfurther anti—government demonstrations. professor mahmood amiree moghadam is the director of the iran human rights group, which published the report. hejoined me a little earlier to explain more about the details behind those figures. i have to start by saying this is the minimum number of executions because we only include those cases that are confirmed by two independent sources. iran human rights has built a broad network inside iran in the last 17 years, so we have many sources

that include families of those executed, people within the prison, people within the judicial system. by the authorities, so, the majority of those executed are not announced by the authorities, but we managed to confirm them. so, 142 executions in may, which means one execution every six hours. this is the minimum number. that's really chilling. what do you think is behind the increase, seemingly, from this time last year? well, you see, as you also said in your report, after the protests started in september following the death in custody of mahsa amini, iranian authorities are experiencing their biggest

crisis since their establishment in 1979 and they haven't managed to control the crisis. they are not able to solve people's problems and the only way they have to keep order, to keep a hold on the power is to spread fear, and the death penalty is probably the strongest instrument to instil fear in the society. we are not talking about proper penalties because i have been subjected to a trial, these can be defined as extra data showed shooting cannons. he said killing machine executing the most vulnerable in society. what we call the low—cost victim killing machine and these are people from ethnic minorities. those who are sentenced to death for drug charges without any fair child and the aim is to spread fear

to prolong the survival of the regime. given the strength of the regime, do you think there's any chance that the death penalty will be abolished, it seems unlikely at this stage, will start to fall out of favour? well, among the people, it doesn't have so much support. we have done surveys showing that more than 70% of iranians are either completely against the death penalty or theyjust for it in very specific cases. very serious cases. so, the existence of the regime depends on how much fear they can manage to create in society, so we are not talking about a strong regime. a regime that depends on terrorising people to continue its rule, i think any time this can burst and this is what they're trying to prevent. 0ur our thanks to him talking to us earlier. quick reminder of our main story this hour, that some in mould of european leaders and significantly that man there,

president zelensky of ukraine. he spoke to european leaders and reinforced his main message which is that ukraine mustjoin the eu and mustjoin nato as soon as possible. you are watching bbc news. there remain questions tonight about how a 12—year—old girl and a 17—year—old boy came to lose their lives after being pulled out of the sea off the coast of bournemouth yesterday. police have ruled out suggestions that they were hit by a vessel or that anyone was jumping from the pier. eight other people were treated on the beach for non—life—threatening injuries. a man in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. duncan kennedyjoins us from bournemouth. for several hours, this part of bournemouth beach was transformed into a major incident. the sand was cleared of the public

to allow in helicopters and other emergency crews. medical teams worked at the water's edge to save those who'd been brought ashore. eyewitnesses said they saw several people being taken away on stretchers. it's horrific, what happened. and i do feel absolutely awful, just to even be there, and obviously people were watching and taking videos and things. yeah, itjust a really distressing event to be a part of and obviously be so close to it. next to the lifeguard post there was someone laying on a stretcher with respiratory gear on, with lots of children and adults surrounding them with stress blankets and water bottles. two of those in the water, a 17—year—old boy from southampton and a 12—year—old girl from buckinghamshire, suffered critical injuries and later died. police today rejected some speculation, including the suggestion that those in the water had been hit by a jet ski.

early investigation indicates - that there was no physical contact between a vessel and any of the swimmers at the l time of the incident. i can also confirm there is no| suggestion of people jumping from the pier orjet| skis being involved. the tragedy happened just after az30pm yesterday afternoon in the sea off bournemouth pier. ten people who were in the water at the time. no physical contact took place between the swimmers and a vessel in the area. the police say a ao—year—old man who was on the water was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. the other eight people involved in this incident were treated on the beach and are not thought to be seriously hurt. at the same time, the police have asked for anybody who saw or filmed the incident to come forward to help with their investigation. the beach has attracted tens of thousands of people during this half—term week.

local leaders say it will remain busy but safe. bournemouth remains a really fantastic place to visit and, you know, this incident needs to be investigated properly and we are confident with our partners that any lessons that need to be learned in the future will be learned. this safe, benign setting has been transformed into one of pain and distress, but has left two families grieving the loss of their children. a malaysian climber has survived the so—called death on the mount everest after a nepalese at sherpa carried

him down. temperatures can plunge to -30 him down. temperatures can plunge to —30 celsius. the sherbet carried the climber down for over six hours and the government official there describe the rescue is almost impossible. it's a sure sign that summer is arriving with the english cricketers beginning their first test of the season. the ashes later in the month but first england take on ireland at the home of cricket, from where joe on ireland at the home of cricket, from wherejoe wilson sent us this. the colours of the mcc, the traditional club of lords. the current president, yeah, stephen fry's guests, four community heroes of grassroots cricket, connecting to this, lord's, the eve of play, the start of summer. i sometimes compare cricket to the royal family. to an outsider it looks absurd, and eccentric and slightly strange and rather appealing and odd but both have survived by evolving, by changing, often too slowly. 37 this month, stuart broad is still improvising, still improving. he was too good for ireland's

batters in the opening exchanges, taking taking wickets in various ways. keep in mind for context, england's men have played 1060 test matches. for ireland, this here is their seventh. and there were moments to enjoy for ireland. a rare opportunity to play this form of cricket, they were here to compete. but broad took his fifth wicket and soon ireland were 172 all out. a bit of pitch maintenance and then england batting and fast forward, rapid scoring. today, ireland, it's what they'll try against australia. how do you signal four? there, keep going. joe wilson, bbc news at lord's. now here's the weather with darren. hello there. there's no rain in the forecast for the next few days, and the first day of meteorological summer got off to a sparkling start here in eastbourne, in east sussex. many parts of the country saw the sunshine coming through, but not everywhere. some eastern areas of scotland

and eastern england stayed cloudy and as a result quite a bit cooler as well. but we should see more sunshine developing across more of the country tomorrow because drier air is going to be coming in from off the north sea. at the moment, though, what's happening overnight is the cloud that we've had in eastern areas is going to push back inland across england and wales, but it's quite thin cloud. for scotland and northern ireland, this is where it's going to be clearer, but it's going to be eastern scotland that will be quite chilly. 2—3 degrees here, otherwise about eight degrees first thing on friday morning. and it could be quite a cloudy start for england and wales, but this time the cloud is thinner. so it's going to break up more readily, and we'll get more sunshine developing more widely across the uk. just a bit of patchy cloud hugging some of these north sea coasts. now, for many, the winds will be light, but it's still going to be pretty breezy across the south—east through the english channel. noticeably breezy in these areas, so a little bit cooler, perhaps. and with the wind off the north sea, right

on the coast, it will be cooler. but with sunny skies developing in most places, then those temperatures more widely will be reaching a pleasant 20—21 degrees. but uv level�*s going to be high right the way across the country, all the way from the shetland isles down into the channel islands. now if you're wondering where all the rain's gone, it's really across southern parts of europe. it stays wet and thundery in places cos high pressure that's been keeping it dry still sitting over the uk. still got some stronger winds across the south and south—east. otherwise the winds are light. on saturday, we could see more cloud coming into the far north of scotland, so a little bit cooler here. but otherwise, lots of sunshine around again on saturday. those temperatures creeping up a little bit, up to around 22—23 degrees. and the glorious weekend continues for many areas with sunny skies. but there's more cloud notjust in northern scotland, rolling down the north sea, perhaps hugging some of these north sea coasts, particularly in the north—east of england. so, again, a little bit cooler here, but otherwise, those temperatures

gradually getting up to 23 or even 2a celsius.

hello, i'm ben thompson. you're watching the context on bbc news. it is prepared to go to court. they say it's about principle, there has to be some element of privacy making in government, but it leaves them open to the charge already levelled by labour that they've got something to cover up. if they say the government can decide what's relevant, then what's going to stop everyone deciding what they send to the inquiry, at which point it undermines their ability to say that they're doing a thoroughjob?