welcome to the programme. former tv star phillip schofield, says he feels nothing but sadness and regret after admitting to lying about an affair with a younger colleague. we'll bring you his sit down interview with the bbc�*s amol rajan shortly. also on the programme tonight, us secretary of state antony blinken calls russia's invasion of ukraine a "strategic failure". we'll look at how the war is impacting vladimir putin. after nearly a year of train strikes here in the uk, we will look at what it's done to the economy as railway unions strike for the 29th time. and with the debt ceiling crisis avoided, who are the real winners and losers in washington, with both sides claiming victory. we'll have all those stories for you throughout the programme, but first some breaking news we are following in india. itrain i train crash. i'm afraid there are

dreadful pictures and dreadful numbers. here you can see one train carousel on its side, people desperately trying to help. it's about midnight or so. it is late, it is dark, and it is desperate. some of the numbers we are getting in from afp news agency, 50 dead and 500 hertz. really desperate situation. a number of trains involved. we can take a look at the map now to show exactly where this is happening. this is happening in odesa in india there. just a little earlier, we heard from the chief minister of the area. let's take a listen. , ., ., , ., listen. they have told us that there have been casualties, _ listen. they have told us that there have been casualties, but - listen. they have told us that there have been casualties, but since - listen. they have told us that there i have been casualties, but since the rescue, we — have been casualties, but since the rescue, we have not counted the numbers, — rescue, we have not counted the numbers, so i can't offer an accurate _ numbers, so i can't offer an accurate number, but it is a tragic accident. — accurate number, but it is a tragic accident, three trains, two passenger trains. this has been involved — passenger trains. this has been involved in— passenger trains. this has been involved in this accident. so we

cannot— involved in this accident. so we cannot rule _ involved in this accident. so we cannot rule out fatalities. for more on this, our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajanjoins us now. bring us up to speed. the officials are now saving — bring us up to speed. the officials are now saying that _ bring us up to speed. the officials are now saying that multiple - bring us up to speed. the officials| are now saying that multiple trains were involved in this collision. it happened in the eastern sentience state, passengertrain happened in the eastern sentience state, passenger train from the eastern city of calcutta which was travelling to chennai. it was involved in a derailment. they came off the track and fell on the opposite side according to one official version, and then there was another train, which rammed into these coaches causing this horrific accident and pictures on social media and television channels showing that toppled coaches all around the place and rescue teams, and also a local village —— local

villagers are now desperately trying to rescue those trapped inside these carriages. though the officials have not confirmed any casualty figure, there are fears that it could be dozens of people who died in this incident and hundreds injured. government has dispatched more than 60 ambulances as well as local buses to ferry those injured people, injured passengers to various hospitals. injured passengers to various hositals. . ~ injured passengers to various hositals. ., ~ ., , injured passengers to various hospitats-— injured passengers to various hositals. ., ~ ., , ., hospitals. talk to us through the role of the _ hospitals. talk to us through the role of the railway _ hospitals. talk to us through the role of the railway network- hospitals. talk to us through the role of the railway network in - hospitals. talk to us through the | role of the railway network in the country. of course, it's absolutely huge. what is the state of the infrastructure like?— huge. what is the state of the infrastructure like? india has one ofthe infrastructure like? india has one of the largest _ infrastructure like? india has one of the largest rail _ infrastructure like? india has one of the largest rail networks - infrastructure like? india has one of the largest rail networks in - infrastructure like? india has one| of the largest rail networks in the world. we are talking about 12 million people using the network every day and connecting and crisscrossing the entire country. and it is also one of the most economical modes of transport, especially for long—distance trains. the one we are talking about from calcutta is an overnight train from hundreds of people travelling and

crammed into these superfast trains. but, you know, for years, they were not investment in terms of infrastructure, in terms of strengthening tracks and signalling system. that is the key, but things have improved over the years. still, these accidents are happening, and these accidents are happening, and the accidents are not uncommon in india, but, again, how this happened, what were the reasons, i think officials will conduct an investigation, but what people are trying to understand is how some of these coaches came off the track and then there was another train coming from the opposite direction. that is for the investigation and for the authorities. at the moment, they are focusing on sending more rescue teams because these carriages would have been toppled and the doors would have jammed. they have to cut through these, and to rescue those injured. some of those are probably badly injured. so time is of the essence here. that is why officials are trying to bring more teams from

outside the state as well. i are trying to bring more teams from outside the state as well.— outside the state as well. i know outside the state as well. i know ou will outside the state as well. i know you will be _ outside the state as well. i know you will be keeping _ outside the state as well. i know you will be keeping across - outside the state as well. i know. you will be keeping across events. thank you very much for that. just to say, we should always have a note of caution when it comes to numbers in these incidents. it is so recent. and as i said, the news agency quitting 50, there was 30 earlier. it certainly seems like dozens as we get a definitive number and more details about what exactly happened and how. of course, we will bring that to you. now to a story that has a huge amount of interest here in the uk. phillip schofield is one of the country's best known presenters. he's told the bbc he's lost everything, and does not see a future for his career, after he had an affair with a junior male colleague. schofield hosted the popular daytime show this morning. and he's been in the headlines after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" relationship. in his first interview since the scandal, he said

the affair only began several years after he first met the young man, who was 15 at the time. schofield strongly denies grooming him, but says he regrets the relationship and lying about it when itv tried to investigate. he's been talking to the bbc�*s amol rajan. phillip, come on in. good to see you. thank you. you've had quite the week. how are you? last week... ..if my daughters hadn't been there... ..then i wouldn't be here. and they've guarded me. it's like a weird numbness. are you feeling strong enough to do this interview?

i have to. why do you want to do this interview? because there is an innocent person here who didn't do anything wrong. i just...have to say stop with him. ok with me, but stop with him, leave them alone now. where did you first meet this young man in question, what with the circumstances? i was invited by a friend of mine to go to open a drama school. whether it was immediately or some time after, he said, will you follow him on twitter because he's a fan? and i said, sure. he was 15 at the time? yeah. but 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 ever, 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. so to be absolutely clear, how old was this young man when you first had any kind of sexual contact with him? 20. no — god, no. that... i think that is, you know... in my statement, it says, you know, consensual relationship, fully legal. i mean, that was approved by both sides. you know, that's. .. no, no. he'd been working at the show for...a few months. and... and we'd become mates. we were mates. and then... ..in my dressing

room one day... ..something happened. which... ..you know, obviously, i will... ..regret forever — for him and for me. mostly him. but it... that happened maybe four or five times over the next few months. and... ..i know it's... ..unforgivable. um... 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... ..itjust happened. how old was he at this stage? 20, 21. who knew on the team? nobody. to my knowledge. i mean, somebody has to know something for there

and did you ever tell holly willoughby? no — god, no. holly did not know. nobody knew. what did you say to the young man in question? to you i am the most sorry. by getting involved with me i have caused you so much pain, i will never forgive myself that i made a bad judgment call. phillip schofield, thank you so much for your time. the programme —— meanwhile, the programme phillip schofield used to present — this morning — continues on the network. after showing the bbc�*s interview to viewers, his former colleague alison hammond was emotional. i'm just finding it really painful because obviously, you know, i loved phillip schofield and it's weird because i still love phillip schofield. however, what he's done is wrong. he's admitted it, he's said sorry, but i'm really... i mean, as a family,

we're all really struggling to process everything. and 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 actionline website, at bbc.co.uk/actionline. and you can see amol�*s full interview with phillip schofield on the bbc iplayer right now in the uk. for more on this i'm joined by the independent�*s chief tv critic, nick hilton. thank you very much for coming in the programme. thank you very much for coming in the programme-— thank you very much for coming in the programme._ firstl thank you very much for coming in l the programme._ first of the programme. thank you. first of all, i the programme. thank you. first of all. i sunpose _ the programme. thank you. first of all. i sunpose in _ the programme. thank you. first of all, i suppose in general, _ the programme. thank you. first of all, i suppose in general, what - the programme. thank you. first of all, i suppose in general, what is i all, i suppose in general, what is your response to that interview? what did you make of that? well. your response to that interview? what did you make of that? well, it was a moving _ what did you make of that? well, it was a moving interview. _ what did you make of that? well, it was a moving interview. it - what did you make of that? well, it was a moving interview. it was - what did you make of that? well, it was a moving interview. it was very | was a moving interview. it was very effective in communicating exactly, kind of, what phillips phillip schofield has been experiencing over the past week. and i think he did a pretty good job of kind of teasing

out the story, the narrative without trying to trap him or make him feel uncomfortable or like he was being ambushed. thomas i think it was an effective a portrait of a man in crisis as we were likely to get. —— are to. crisis as we were likely to get. -- are to. ~ . crisis as we were likely to get. -- are to. . ., ., ,., crisis as we were likely to get. -- areto.~ ., ,, are to. what about the wider issue about why do _ are to. what about the wider issue about why do this _ are to. what about the wider issue about why do this interview - are to. what about the wider issue about why do this interview at - are to. what about the wider issue about why do this interview at all i about why do this interview at all fou , ., �* , four -- phillip schofield. it's hardly the — four -- phillip schofield. it's hardly the first _ four -- phillip schofield. it's hardly the first time - four -- phillip schofield. it's hardly the first time we - four -- phillip schofield. it's| hardly the first time we have four -- phillip schofield. it's - hardly the first time we have seen this sort of celebrity war being waged on the bbc�*s flagship presenting programmes. 0bviously waged on the bbc�*s flagship presenting programmes. obviously the big example that people will remember was prince andrew walking into his own bear trap, but dominic cummings did it with laura goons berg, prince harry has done immediate around recently. it seems like this kind of set feet interview is very dishware with people who are going to the tabloid ringer, and it offers him a chance to try to reframe the narrative that was spinning out of control and being able to sit down with the bbc is a much more effective way of doing

that then kind of relying on that tabloids to litigate your case on your behalf. d0 tabloids to litigate your case on your behalf-— tabloids to litigate your case on your behalf. do you think he will have changed — your behalf. do you think he will have changed people's - your behalf. do you think he will have changed people's opinions| your behalf. do you think he will i have changed people's opinions of him? i have changed people's opinions of him? , , ., , him? i sense that there is some --eole him? i sense that there is some people have _ him? i sense that there is some people have a — him? i sense that there is some people have a very _ him? i sense that there is some people have a very firm - him? i sense that there is some people have a very firm and - people have a very firm and entrenched position with him on this case and there are kind of broader questions to be answered about what was going on, but i think that he will have changed some people's mines commanded think he was trying to reframe this as a story that has perhaps, he has accepted responsibility, he also wants to highlight that preparation needs to be restored to this, the rolling news coverage, the coverage here and bbc and across the media perhaps is disproportionate to the accusations being levelled against ten and are in danger of destroying his life for something that was a transgression that he admits to. i think in terms of communicating that narrative and making that the narrative that goes forward, i think you've done a pretty good job, and i suspect viewers will have been largely convinced by that. fin

viewers will have been largely convinced by that.— viewers will have been largely convinced by that. on the level of ublic convinced by that. on the level of public interest, _ convinced by that. on the level of public interest, for _ convinced by that. on the level of public interest, for that _ convinced by that. on the level of public interest, for that day - convinced by that. on the level of public interest, for that day to - convinced by that. on the level of| public interest, for that day to day year three of the top ten most viewed stories here at the bbc where three different elements to this story. there has been an extraordinary appetite from the public for coverage of this. yeah, it's a story _ public for coverage of this. yeah, it's a story that's _ public for coverage of this. yeah, it's a story that's run _ public for coverage of this. yeah, it's a story that's run and - public for coverage of this. yeah, it's a story that's run and run. - public for coverage of this. yeah, it's a story that's run and run. it. it's a story that's run and run. it speaks to the story in which phillip schofield is whether they watched this morning i didn't. so i think the fact that he has such a ubiquitous public figure has made the interest much higher. —— this morning. there was a brevis court case involving his brother which i think has meant the momentum around this phillip schofield name has travelled over into the story. generally, the sort of media intrigues and the bbc has experienced it in—house many times, they capture the public imagination. it doesn't necessarily mean that we ought to feed it to. and i think

probably we are reaching the saturation point, the point where we need to say, unless the story progresses in a very different direction, which it doesn't seem to be at the moment, you know, maybe that man has kind of served his time in the court of public opinion. taste in the court of public opinion. we believe that there. thank you very much for your time and thank you for coming on the programme. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some of the other stories making headlines today. a teenagerfrom essex has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of six years, after pleading guilty to plotting terror attacks. 19—year—old matthew king admitted carrying out surveillance at police stations, railway stations, and a british army barracks in london. during the sentencing, thejudge praised king's motherfor reporting her suspicions to police. the government has appointed dame elan closs stephens as the bbc�*s acting chair. she replaces richard sharp who resigned after an independent report found he had

breached the rules. dame elan closs stephens has been on the public broadcaster's governing body since 2010. she's described her new role as "a huge honour". a local safety group says, a cheese rolling event puts a strain on emergency services. hundreds of competitors chased a cheese down coopers hill, near gloucester , on monday. some people suffered serious injuries during the annual event. you're live with bbc news. next, staying here in the uk. a new development in the story of borisjohnson and the covid—19 inquiry. he says he's giving �*unredacted access' to his whatsapp messages direct to the inquiry into his government's handling of the covid—19 pandemic. here he was on wednesday going for a run. he's basically by—passing the government. the government says some messages aren't relevent, shouldn't be handed over,

and are going to court to try and stop it. however, he has only agreed to pass on messages dating back to april 2021, which would miss the first year of lockdown measures in the uk. johnson says he can no longer �*safely�* access his messages from that time, because of security worries about his old phone. i'm joined now by professor sam power — a senior lecturer in politics at the university of sussex — in south east england. thank you very much for coming on the programme. it's all slightly complicated. certainly very detailed. why does all this matter? what this is is it is the lead up to the full inquiry into the government's handling, broadly, of the covid—19 crisis, so, you know, this inquiry to realise and to try to get to the bottom of what decisions were made and when, what

mistakes, frankly, were made and when. what was done right and wrong. so it's really important for inquiry to get the full details of everything to learn lessons, write? this was the biggest clubhouse crate that neck health crisis of a generation from if not more. that is what is at stake here. and that is what is at stake here. and that is what we are trying to the bottom of when we talk about the kind of information that the covid inquiry needs. 50 information that the covid inquiry needs. . information that the covid inquiry needs, ., , information that the covid inquiry needs. ., , needs. so that is the broad overview _ needs. so that is the broad overview. and _ needs. so that is the broad overview. and in _ needs. so that is the broad overview. and in terms - needs. so that is the broad overview. and in terms of i needs. so that is the broad i overview. and in terms of the needs. so that is the broad - overview. and in terms of the type of information, what is going on here with borisjohnson saying you can have all my unredacted whatsapp messages, but the government saying, no, we don't want to hand those over to the inquiry. it is no, we don't want to hand those over to the inquiry-— to the inquiry. it is all a bit strange. — to the inquiry. it is all a bit strange, really. _ to the inquiry. it is all a bit strange, really. and - to the inquiry. it is all a bit strange, really. and it - to the inquiry. it is all a bit strange, really. and it sortj to the inquiry. it is all a bit i strange, really. and it sort of highlights the unique combined, if you well that rishi sunak is in, which is that he is the prime minister and the leader of the

conservative party, but he governs a shaky coalition, if you will, and he certainly has a lot of support amongst the conservative party, amongst the conservative party, amongst conservative mps and members, but also he has this boris johnson supporters that can be quite awkward for him and can make his governing quite awkward, and i think what has happened is that he spent a lot of his time as prime minister trying to traverse that main field and to govern without upsetting, if you have, the awkward squad of conservative mps, and what this presented, whether the whatsapp and the texts should be given to the covid—19 inquiry, quite a challenge for rishi sunak, because if he simply gave the text away, then he would have feared that he might have been critiqued by this awkward squad

of mps and by borisjohnson for simply giving things away and making his life very acrid, either behind the scenes implicitly or explicitly. 0r the scenes implicitly or explicitly. or he could just do what he has done and suggest that he is not going to do that. then borisjohnson has come out and said, well, i'm going to release the whatsapp anyway. so this is not, frankly, going to make rishi sunakfeel any more is not, frankly, going to make rishi sunak feel any more warmly to his mother borisjohnson has or has not been a rather awkward presence on the back benches for him since he has taken over as pm and. great to have our has taken over as pm and. great to have your thoughts. _ has taken over as pm and. great to have your thoughts. thank - has taken over as pm and. great to have your thoughts. thank you. - antony blinken — america's top diplomat — has described president putin's invasion of ukraine as a strategic failure for russia. the us secretary of state has arrived in finland just 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 to some of what he had to say. when you look at put in's long aims and aggression, derek significantly worse off today. militarily, economically, geopolitically. for more on this i'm joined by russian journalist and director of the european resillience initiative centre, sergej sumlenny. thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the programme-— thank you very much for coming on the programme. thank you very much for coming on the rouramme. . ~' . ., the programme. thank you so much for havin: me the programme. thank you so much for having me today- _ the programme. thank you so much for having me today. i'm _ the programme. thank you so much for having me today. i'm not— the programme. thank you so much for having me today. i'm not a _ the programme. thank you so much for having me today. i'm not a russian - having me today. i'm not a russian journalist, i am a german political expert, but happy to be on your programme. expert, but happy to be on your programme-— expert, but happy to be on your programme. expert, but happy to be on your rouramme. , ., ~ i. programme. understood, thank you very much- — programme. understood, thank you very much- right. — programme. understood, thank you very much. right, fascinating - very much. right, fascinating statement from anthony thinking. we will mark the significance of where he was in nato's newest member, a pitcher of strength and unity. ——

antony blinken. 0nto the substance of what he said, he really attacked russia's position, and he is now weaker militarily, economically, geopolitically. let's go through those, because it's interesting. first of all, militarily, is blinken right to say that russia is not significantly weaker militarily? i significantly weaker militarily? i would say absolutely. moreover, he has just repeated... would say absolutely. moreover, he hasjust repeated... regarding would say absolutely. moreover, he has just repeated... regarding the second strongest army not only in the world but in ukraine. when we look now at what terrible shape the russian army is and by now, it is absolutely different army compared to about a month ago. russia has destroyed like the most precious equipment, like the most equipment in the first months, the best officers of the russian army have been killed within the first months. russia has not managed to conscript, they kill soldiers. theyjust grabbed whoever they can. —— scaled

soldiers. they try to usually go through private military companies which are even where's in the quality of soldiers, like conscripted inmates who were mostly ill and mostly absolutely incapable for the military service, and they just send them as meat into attacks, like where russians have lost several thousands of their soldiers to advance like 30 or a0 km within months. i to advance like 30 or 40 km within months. ., ., , months. i have to “ump in there, because we have — months. i have to jump in there, because we have to _ months. i have to jump in there, because we have to get - months. i have to jump in there, because we have to get him - months. i have to jump in there, because we have to get him to i months. i have to jump in there, i because we have to get him to the other points that bakhmut —— that blinken made, about being militarily weaker. economically, how is that impacted? weaker. economically, how is that imacted? ~ weaker. economically, how is that imacted? ., , weaker. economically, how is that imacted? ., impacted? well, economically as well. but back _ impacted? well, economically as well. but back to _ impacted? well, economically as well. but back to militarily, - impacted? well, economically as. well. but back to militarily, russia sends weeks, suffers from raids of the ukrainian special forces on the

russian territory, that is what was unthinkable like one year ago. russia is now absolutely dependent on military technology from iran and north korea. what humiliation for a great power. if you look at the number of personal bankruptcies in russia or the number of companies which do not pay salaries on time, it is like the highest since the 905. also, if you look at industries like the aviation industry, corporate, automobile industry, they cannot produce anything. they promised one year ago they will substitute important technologies by the russians, but even the russian government acknowledges they cannot do it now. the only thing they can do, just import, but they cannot substitute everything the russians wanted, so economically, yes, it was a disaster. , ., ., ., , ., a disaster. great to have your thoughts- _ a disaster. great to have your thoughts. time _ a disaster. great to have your thoughts. time has _ a disaster. great to have your thoughts. time has beaten i a disaster. great to have your. thoughts. time has beaten up.

a disaster. great to have your- thoughts. time has beaten up. we are right up against the end of this section of the programme. i thank you very much forjoining us. i will be back injust you very much forjoining us. i will be back in just a few minutes' time. this is the dizziness. —— this is bbc news. hello there. we've got lots of warm 5un5hine to come this weekend, but it will be quite cool at night. now, today we saw the sunshine developing in more of the country, even in eastern parts of england, where it's been cloudy over the past few days, the cloud has been much thinner. we've introduced some drier air actually off the north sea all the way from norway. now, there is more cloud in the centre of our high, and eventually that will push across northern scotland and down the north sea, but notjust yet. there's a bit of thin cloud coming in to some parts of england and we've got some cloud in the far north of scotland overnight. but clear skies, a dry night, and a cool night for the time of year. temperatures in england and wales could be as low as four or five degrees,

maybe a little chillier across some eastern areas of scotland. now, this cloud that comes in overnight should tend to break up and we'll see the sunshine coming through. we'll see a little bit of fairweather cloud developing over the high ground in scotland and then perhaps across some southern parts of england. but it looks like it's going to be a dry day. a lot of sunshine around, a little bit warmer probably than today. temperatures widely reaching 20 to 22 degrees. but with that sunshine, its strong sunshine as well. so we've got high uv levels during saturday and probably into sunday as well where we keep the sunshine. but there is that cloud coming in across northern scotland and then moving back down in the north sea. so we're getting back to square one. more cloud across eastern parts of england in particular. it should tend to retreat back to the coast. some coastal areas could stay cloudy and rather cool, but otherwise a lot of sunshine to come. still breezy in the far south of the uk, and generally still west is best in terms of blue skies and sunshine, and still 16 or 17 along those north sea coasts.

any changes as we head into next week? well, not really. the high pressure is still there, and it's still feeding in the cloud from off the north sea. it could be more extensive across england, i think, on monday. but again, it does tend to retreat back to the coast, but with that onshore breeze just feeding that cloud all the while, but a lot of sunshine around again to start next week. and those temperatures again reaching 23 or 2a degrees at best. and that high pressure will linger right the way through next week. there's no sign of any rain at all, sunshine being the order of the day. some cool nights, but if anything, getting a bit warmer by the end of next week.

hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. you're watching the context on bbc news. tensions between the united states and china loom over asia's biggest annual security summit, under way in singapore. sport, and for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's marc edwards. hello. we're going to start at roland—garros in paris, where world number one carlos alcaraz is in action

against canada's denis shapovalov, and the top seed cruising through the first set.