of ukraine a strategic failure. we speak to former nato deputy assistant secretary generaljamie shea. excitement from scientists after a blood test that can detect 50 different types of cancer. hello, welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them we begin in the uk where one of the nation's best known presenters phillip schofield says he's �*lost everything', after admitting to lying about an affair with a young colleague. the anchor — who hosted the popular daytime show this morning has been in the headlines after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" relationship. but this is also a story

he said the affair only began years after meeting the young man who was 15 at the time. he said he regrets the relationship and lying about it when itv tried to investigate. he has been talking to the bbc. phillip, come on in. good to see you. thank you. phillip schofield granted this interview because he wanted to say sorry, he wanted to show contrition and he wanted to correct some of what he sees as the false narratives in the public domain over the past week. are you feeling 0k to do this? are you feeling strong enough to do this interview? yeah, i have to. schofield described the enormous toll recent days have taken on him. it is relentless. it is day after day after day after day. if you do that... if you don't think that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone's mind... do you want me to die? because that's where i am.

i have lost everything. schofield says he is extremely concerned for the welfare of the young man with whom he had an extramarital affair. there is an innocent person here who didn't do anything wrong. when did you first meet this young man in question? what were the circumstances? i was invited by a friend of mine to go to open a drama school and that's where the picture was taken. but whether it was immediately or some time after, he said, will you follow him on twitter because he's a fan? isaid, "yeah, sure, no problem," which i did. and he was what, 15 at the time? yeah. and this was over a decade ago? i follow 11,300 people. and in all the time i've been on twitter, there has never been any whiff of impropriety. and how often were

you in touch with him? hardly at all. and that was it for a while. and then he asked if he could visit the studios, work experience type of thing. i said, "come down, have a look, for sure," which he did. how old was he when he first said to you, "i'm interested in television"? was he 18 by that point? 19 then, i would think. 19 by then. when you look back now... if you were to look back at those messages now, is there any sense in which you were flirting with him? no. then when you met him in person, was there a little moment of sexual attraction then even? absolutely not. 0k. so, to be absolutely clear, how old was this young man when you first had any kind of sexual contact with him? 20. this is obviously the nub of it and for the record and to put speculation to rest,

let me ask you directly, did you have any kind of sexual relationship or sex with him when he was underage? no, god, no. i think that is... in my statement it says, consensual relationship, fully legal. i mean, that was approved by both sides. no, no. he had been working at the show for a few months and we'd become mates. we were mates. around the studios, you hang out together and chat to each other, that sort of stuff. and then, in my dressing room one day, something happened... which, obviously... i will regret forever, for him and for me. mostly him.

but...that happened maybe four or five times over the next few months and... i know it's. .. unforgivable. but we weren't boyfriends. we weren't in a relationship. i was really in a mess with my own sexuality at the time and it just happened. how old was he at this stage? 20, 21. who knew on the team? nobody, to my knowledge. and did you ever tell holly willoughby? no, god, no. when did you last speak to holly willoughby? i whatsapped her on the day i put the statement up and i said to her,

"i know you can't reply, you're probably not allowed to, but please know that i am so desperately, desperately sorry." did she reply? no. on the central question of whether or not he groomed this young man, schofield is emphatic in his denial. it was a totally innocent picture, a totally innocent twitter follow and then it was a completely innocent backwards and forwards over a period of time about a job, about careers. you do that, what's wrong with that? what's wrong with talking to someone, no matter what age they are? does that mean that if you are following anyone on twitter, you absolutely don't talk to anybody else or you don't give advice? attention will now turn to the culture of this morning and specifically whether or not itv bosses handled it appropriately.

dame carolyn mccall, the boss of itv, is due to be questioned by mps next week. amol rajan, bbc news. our arts and media correspondent david sillito is with me now. let's pick up with that final thoughts there. where do you think this leaves itv as a company and the questions they have to answer? there already been — questions they have to answer? there already been announced _ questions they have to answer? there already been announced an _ questions they have to answer? ii—ii” already been announced an external review of what itv knew, when did they know it and what do they do about it. because, if you look at that interview and what phillip schofield hasjust that interview and what phillip schofield has just said, that interview and what phillip schofield hasjust said, this is a story that does begin with a visit to a school and ends with a sexual encounter in a dressing room in itv studios. now, questions about what that timeline was, what actually happened, what did people know and what was investigated are very pertinent questions. the head of the

media select committee who is also going to be interviewing, questioning bosses of itv said, it does raise questions about safeguarding, questions about potential abuse of power. this is, after all, potential abuse of power. this is, afterall, phillip potential abuse of power. this is, after all, phillip schofield, potential abuse of power. this is, afterall, phillip schofield, one potential abuse of power. this is, after all, phillip schofield, one of the highest profile tv presenters in the highest profile tv presenters in the country. an older man, and a man with a great deal of power within an organisation and this is an issue which has been raised many times over the last ten years over people who may appear to be untouchable in organisations. what did the bosses know and what do they do about it? itv says that the first rumours they were aware of where in late 2019. they investigated, both men were questioned and they said both denied it. phillip schofield in the interview did say, look, i lied about it. and what could itv have

done about it? he is not laying the blame they're saying that they should have stepped in in certain points, but certainly questions, because there has certainly been a great deal of rumour and speculation about this and requirement now is some hard facts. he about this and requirement now is some hard facts.— some hard facts. he says in the loner some hard facts. he says in the longer interview _ some hard facts. he says in the longer interview that _ some hard facts. he says in the longer interview that he - some hard facts. he says in the longer interview that he thinks | longer interview that he thinks there is a homophobic element about there is a homophobic element about the coverage of this story but dan plays exactly what you are referencing there, the whole power dynamic that we've seen in so many different relationships in similar types of stories. but where there questions asked, because there has been reports around stories, payoffs, ndas. was he asked about that and what were the answers? he said that and what were the answers? he: said categorically no payoffs, no ndas, injunctions or super injunctions, categorically no. but the question, of course, is would it be the same level of scrutiny and attention if it had been a 20 or

21—year—old woman rather than a man and he said there is clearly, he feels, some element of homophobia in this. he said that explicitly. the question also arises, how was it that this person arrived in the workplace in the first place? because he had a role in their being a work placement and this man getting a job in the first place. and it was, he says, just chit chat about careers, a few messages on twitter dms. there will be some scrutiny about the journey from the school trip to what happened in the end. :, , . school trip to what happened in the end. :, , : : end. thanks very much. a quick ointer. if you've been affected by any of the issues raised in that interview with phillip schofield, there is a list of organisations which can provide help. it's at the bbc action line website, at bbc.co.uk/actionline

antony blinken — america's top diplomat — has described president putin's invasion of ukraine as a strategic failure for russia. his comments came as the us secretary of state arrived in finland, months after it became nato's newest member. mr blinken also said the war had strengthened the very alliances russia had sought to weaken , nato and the eu. let's have a listen at some of what he had to say. today, what i want to do is set out this and the many other ways putin's war of aggression against ukraine has been a strategic failure. greatly diminishing russia's power, its interest and its influence for years to come. and i will also share our vision of the path to a just and lasting peace. when you look at president putin's long—term strategic aims and objectives, there is no question, russia is significantly worse off today than it was before it's full—scale invasion of ukraine, militarily, economically, geopolitically.

i am nowjoined byjamie shea, former deputy assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges at nato welcome to the programme. antony blinken is right, putin wanted less nato on his doorstep. he's ended up with more. , :, , : ., , with more. yes, that is certainly the case because _ with more. yes, that is certainly the case because not _ with more. yes, that is certainly the case because not only - with more. yes, that is certainly the case because not only has . the case because not only has finland recentlyjoined nato but hopefully, now that the elections in turkey are over, sweden will be joining nato to very shortly. in time for nato's next summit injuly. and, of course, one of the big topics will be when will ukraine become a member of nato too? because the allies since putin's invasion last year have reiterated on many occasions that nato's door is open to ukraine and that ukraine will be a member of nato one day. i think the whole debate injuly will be

about whether that can take place immediately once the war is over or whether the west will have to provide some sort of bilateral security guarantees to ukraine while ukraine is waiting for the day it canjoin nato. me ukraine is waiting for the day it canjoin nate-— ukraine is waiting for the day it canjoin nato. we heard president zehns canjoin nato. we heard president zelinsky would — canjoin nato. we heard president zelinsky would peak _ canjoin nato. we heard president zelinsky would peak that - canjoin nato. we heard presidentj zelinsky would peak that message only yesterday. the worry all the way through this war has been about different points that might escalate things. we had that argument about tanks, we are having it aboutjets, ukrainejoining nato, shouldn't they just get on with it and do it now? i think they are, more and more, in the sense that when they started out, the debate about whether to supply air defence systems took the best part of six months and then the debate about supplying tanks took the best part of two months. and now, we see within a matter of days, decisions being made to trade ukrainian pilots on jets. decisions being made to trade ukrainian pilots onjets. the uk are supplying missiles and more and more advanced weaponry going into ukraine with a minimum of debate. i think

what's happened is the nato allies have reached a conclusion of, look, there is always a risk of escalation but the worst risk is not giving ukraine enough western equipment to make its defence is a success meaning that the war will go on for a long, long time and the west will have to keep this ever up, notjust for one year but year after year. better to try to help ukrainians to achieve success this year rather than two or three years.- achieve success this year rather than two or three years. aside from that particular _ than two or three years. aside from that particular worry, _ than two or three years. aside from that particular worry, with - than two or three years. aside from that particular worry, with the - that particular worry, with the counteroffensive that everyone is waiting for, what other critical points do you think there are that could be of concern question mark crimea, for example, if president zelinsky attempts to take back that given that everything russia has said about viewing that is their own territory now. what are the areas of worry? territory now. what are the areas of wor ? :, , :, :, :, , worry? certainly the nato allies, the western _ worry? certainly the nato allies, the western general, _ worry? certainly the nato allies, the western general, is - worry? certainly the nato allies, the western general, is still-

the western general, is still reluctant to see ukraine strike russian territory in a significant way. there is some tolerance for these low—level attacks that have been going on over the last couple of weeks. the drones over moscow, the sabotage operations on fuel dumps and ammunition dumps and the like. as long as ukraine is not using those advanced western weapons like the miss was i referred to a few months ago, there is a sense that putin for a few months has been waging this all—out attack on ukrainian cities. kyiv has been attacked 17 times alone last month, killing civilians, no sense of attacking military targets. if ukraine are using covert operation strikes across the border, the west can turn a blind eye as long as the western weapons are not being used. crimea is ukrainian sovereign territory, it was annexed by russia in 2014, nobody in the west has recognised that and to have a free

and independent ukraine means that ukraine recovers crimea. res, and independent ukraine means that ukraine recovers crimea.— ukraine recovers crimea. a final ruick ukraine recovers crimea. a final quick thought. _ ukraine recovers crimea. a final quick thought, peace _ ukraine recovers crimea. a final quick thought, peace talks - ukraine recovers crimea. a final quick thought, peace talks are l ukraine recovers crimea. a final- quick thought, peace talks are being referenced. whatever is happening on the ground, how does that come about? can you imagine a scenario which exists in the near future that can get us there?— can get us there? yes, i think we can. obviously, _ can get us there? yes, i think we can. obviously, a _ can get us there? yes, i think we can. obviously, a ukrainian - can. obviously, a ukrainian offensive, when it does take place, it looks like it will be more of a summer or autumn offensive than a spring offensive, but it has to be successful to roll the russians back, to give ukraine the where to have a state of consumption. ukraine without the black sea ports, the donbas, losing 25% of his agricultural production isn't the kind of a viable state that nato and the eu want to see. there has to be a rollback of the russian forces beyond where they are today. secondly, we have to have a situation where an international conference can take place, which is what president zelinsky wants, with

a significant enough countries partaking beyond the traditional. countries like brazil, china, to adopt a plan which would, of course, be fair in terms of what ukraine wants and will not simply be a one—sided deal in favour of the russians. that is what the diplomacy is about and it was interesting, you featured antony blinken's speech in finland, it is interesting that in that speech he also invited brazil and china to play a useful mediator role in those peace talks. provided that, again, they are not solely coming down on the russian side and respect the principles of the un charter. the west is still hoping that peace may be a chance to bring the global community, not with russia of course, back together. thanks so much forjoining us. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

some other stories making news in the uk. a teenagerfrom essex, has been sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison, after pleading guilty to planning terror attacks. 19—year—old matthew king admitted carrying out surveillance at police stations, railway stations, and an british army barracks in london. the rmt union says, it regrets the inconvenience caused by its latest round of strikes — but it says, the dispute will continue until it has a fair pay deal. many operators have a limited service today — and there's another strike planned by train drivers in the aslef union for tomorrow. the government says it's made fair and reasonable pay offers. a local safety group says, a cheese rolling event puts a strain on emergency services. hundreds of competitors chased a cheese down cooper's hill , near gloucester, on monday. some people suffered serious injuries during the annual event.

the tewkesbury borough safety group says, emergency services will no longer staff the event, until organisers come up with a safety plan. you're live with bbc news. now to the latest development here in the uk — regarding material demanded by an inquiry into the government's handling of covid—19. former prime minister borisjohnson has said he is giving unredacted whatsapp messages dating back to may 2021 directly to the covid inquiry, bypassing the government which has refused to hand them over. yesterday, the cabinet office said it was seeking a judicial review of the demand for messages from the former pm and other officials to be handed over to the inquiry chair. thank you for being here on the programme. the story has become much more complicated in the last 24 hours. ~ , , , , hours. absolutely, there is this bi . ? hours. absolutely, there is this big? about _ hours. absolutely, there is this big? about what _ hours. absolutely, there is this big? about what the _

hours. absolutely, there is this i big? about what the government hours. absolutely, there is this - big? about what the government is going to hand over to the inquiry and what it isn't. 0n the one hand, we have the cabinet office saying it is going to launch a judicial review of the inquiry. its own inquiry, it is resisting the call to share unredacted material, including whatsapp messages. 0n the other hand, you have borisjohnson who is no longer in government, saying he is perfectly happy to share his whatsapp messages with the inquiry. he's already shared them with the cabinet office, he says. but also, we know these are only whatsapp messages pertaining to may 2021 because of a security issue with his phone before that point. and of course, it's the period before may 2021, is when the three knockdowns happened, which the inquiry will be so interested in. that happened, which the inquiry will be so interested in.— so interested in. that is the period ofthe so interested in. that is the period of the bulk — so interested in. that is the period of the bulk of. _ so interested in. that is the period of the bulk of, of _ so interested in. that is the period of the bulk of, of course, - so interested in. that is the period of the bulk of, of course, the - of the bulk of, of course, the covert mac pandemic. this other phone which is being referenced. in terms of taking a step back, the

basic look of this, what is your assessment in terms of the government's position that there should be areas of privacy or the opponents that say it looks like a cover up? yeti opponents that say it looks like a cover up? ye— cover up? yet i think that the government _ cover up? yet i think that the government position - cover up? yet i think that the government position is - government position is unsustainable. they are saying they are taking a judicial review, lots of lawyers predicts they are likely to lose thatjudicial review and will end up having to hand over unredacted messages anyway. when you take a step back, as you say, the government set up this inquiry, they made it a statutory inquiry, an independent inquiry chaired by an extremely respected independent judge, baroness hallett. it is in her right to ask for the material that she thinks she needs for the inquiry to draw its conclusions. the government's case is, there's lots of private material in these messages and it would be to compromise the privacy of ministers if we were to hand it all over. for me, that doesn't quite wash because

you are handing it over to a judge, not making it public. thejudge herself can look at the messages and decide what needs to be redacted and what is in the public interest for us to know. i'm sure we can trust a very experienced seniorjudge to make those decisions. the fact of the matter is, if it is whatsapp communications on government phones, it is government business and i think this is where ministers are running into trouble. i think there's a tendency, these days, for politicians to use whatsapp quite casually. whereas, if you are using whatsapp on government phones, it is... 0r whatsapp on government phones, it is... or even personal phones to conduct government business, there is a public interest in seeing that material. �* , :, :, :, material. i'm sorry we have to leave it there. thanks _ material. i'm sorry we have to leave it there. thanks for _ material. i'm sorry we have to leave it there. thanks forjoining - material. i'm sorry we have to leave it there. thanks forjoining us. - it there. thanks forjoining us. breaking news in the world of football, uefa havejust said breaking news in the world of football, uefa have just said they are opening a case againstjoe

moreno for abusing the referee after the europa league final. you may have seen the pictures in the car park and fans also accusing that same referee, anthony taylor, as he was heading to the airport. let's talk to the former premier league refereejoining us live. you've talk to the former premier league referee joining us live. you've seen the pictures, what has been swelling around the story. first of all, in terms of your reaction to what we just heard, do you welcome them opening this inquiry?— opening this inquiry? absolutely. the had opening this inquiry? absolutely. they had to _ opening this inquiry? absolutely. they had to act. _ opening this inquiry? absolutely. they had to act. when _ opening this inquiry? absolutely. they had to act. when you - opening this inquiry? absolutely. they had to act. when you look l opening this inquiry? absolutely. | they had to act. when you look at the behaviour of the players on the field, the occupants of the technical area. anthony taylor, a world—class referee, issued 13 yellow cards. our average in the premier league is about three, three .5, so it gives you some perspective. i think there is no question that what has got to happen now is a thorough investigation. i think uefa have to look at their security issues around the referee

getting to the airport and onto the plane home. i think that's got to be part of the review. but in the case ofjosie moreno, for me this has to be a massive ban. this is not the first occasion. he is a serial offender and i hope uefa will treat it very seriously and give an appropriate suspension. i it very seriously and give an appropriate suspension. i will come back to jose — appropriate suspension. i will come back to jose mourinho _ appropriate suspension. i will come back to jose mourinho in _ appropriate suspension. i will come back to jose mourinho in a - appropriate suspension. i will come| back to jose mourinho in a moment, back tojose mourinho in a moment, we are seeing the pictures at the moment. some of the fans and the disturbances there. going back to jose mourinho himself, we are used to seeing staff pitch side, on the pitch between players and referees, managers and referees, but this to happen in a car park, that initial confrontation, how much of a crossing of the line is that, do you think? i crossing of the line is that, do you think? ~' crossing of the line is that, do you think? ~ , :, : , crossing of the line is that, do you think? ~ : :, think? i think it is a crossing of the line when _ think? i think it is a crossing of the line when a _ think? i think it is a crossing of the line when a manager, - think? i think it is a crossing ofj the line when a manager, even think? i think it is a crossing of- the line when a manager, even though he is disappointed, shows disrespect for a match official. this is what he's done. i believe that those

threats he made, those comments he made, actually cascaded, listened to by some of the fans, and then created the problem at the airport. for anthony and his family to actually endure that, a chair was thrown towards him! this is totally unacceptable, it's unheard of and i know that uefa will act.— know that uefa will act. briefly, ou know that uefa will act. briefly, you described _ know that uefa will act. briefly, you described him _ know that uefa will act. briefly, you described him as _ know that uefa will act. briefly, you described him as a - know that uefa will act. briefly, you described him as a serial i you described him as a serial offender. he was banned from a champions league match, brought into a dressing room in a laundry basket at half—time, you think there should be a really long ban to send out a message? 0r be a really long ban to send out a message? or i think ten matches would probably be appropriate. a ban in europe means more than a ban here. a touchline ban in england. in europe, it means often that you aren't allowed to go to the ground. let us see uefa's reaction and how

they deal with it.— let us see uefa's reaction and how they deal with it. thanks for taking they deal with it. thanks for taking the time to — they deal with it. thanks for taking the time to talk— they deal with it. thanks for taking the time to talk to _ they deal with it. thanks for taking the time to talk to us. _ they deal with it. thanks for taking the time to talk to us. you - they deal with it. thanks for taking the time to talk to us. you are - the time to talk to us. you are watching bbc news, i am the time to talk to us. you are watching bbc news, iam back the time to talk to us. you are watching bbc news, i am back with more in a moment. hello there. the wind flow hasn't changed but we are seeing more sunshine across the uk today. that is because, while the winds are still coming in across the north sea, it is drier air heading our way from norway and the cloud has been much thinner, has been breaking up more widely. plenty of sunshine around, feels warm in the sunshine as well. still cooler right on those north sea coast because we have that north—easterly breeze. still quite breezy on the south east of england as well. 0vernight, some of that cloud will come in over eastern areas of england and we were see some patchy cloud in the north of scotland. 0therwise, clouds will be clear. —— skies will be clear.

colder than it was last night in england and wales, four or 5 degrees, perhaps even lower than that in north—east england and south of scotland. there will be some cloud around from overnight first thing, it will burn off again and we will see lengthy spells of sunshine. bit of fair weather cloud bubbling up bit of fair weather cloud bubbling up over the high ground in scotland and across southern parts of england. a fine day, temperatures a little bit higher, widely up to 20 or 22 degrees. again, cooler around some of those north sea coasts but a pleasant day nonetheless. sunshine far and wide and it is high uv levels as well. we still have high pressure in charge right the way through the weekend. it is centred to the north—west of the uk. a lot of cloud in that, that will run across northern scotland and push back down across the north sea into some eastern areas of england overnight into sunday morning. a bit more cloud around, will retreat back to those north sea coasts but could still stay cloudy in a few more places. 0therwise, still stay cloudy in a few more places. otherwise, a lot of sunshine around, dry day as well. warmest out towards the west, temperatures 23 or

24 degrees. a lovely weekend for many parts of the country, high pressure isn't going anywhere at all next week. still got some blustery winds through the english channel and the south—east of england. 0therwise, and the south—east of england. otherwise, the winds will be light. this cloud we start with across the midlands and east of england burning back to some of those north sea coasts. sunshine developing across more of the country and those temperatures climbing up to 23 or 24 degrees. this weather pattern is still with us and it's not changing at all through next week. high pressure will be dominant, it is staying dry. there will be some areas of cloud around. west will be best in terms of sunshine and also the highest temperatures.