more disruption for rail passengers with the latest strike by thousands of staff today, and another by train drivers due tomorrow. and we speak to manchester city's star striker erling haaland ahead of tomorrow's fa cup final. on newsnight at 10.30pm, phillip schofield bears his soul, attempts to quash some of what he says were untruths and tries to change the narrative about his relationship with a younger colleague. what are the questions now for itv? good evening. two weeks after standing down from his itv show this morning, and a week after revealing he had a relationship with a much younger male colleague, phillip schofield has apologised for what he called a grave error,

and said that his career was now over, and he had lost everything. in his first broadcast interview since he quit itv, he said the relationship only began several years after his first meeting with the young man, who was then 15. mr schofield strongly denies grooming him, but says he regrets the relationship and lying about it when itv tried to investigate. he also said he believed that homophobia had fuelled the media coverage of events. he's been talking to amol rajan. phillip, come on in. good to see you. thank you. thanks for coming in. you've had quite the week, how are you? um, ithink... i understand how caroline flack felt. 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. you feel strong enough to do this interview? yeah, i have to. why? why do you want to do this interview? because there is an innocent person here who didn't do anything wrong. ijust have to say, stop with him. ok with me, but stop with him, leave him alone now. 0k, where 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. whether it was immediately or sometime after, he said, will,

you really follow him on twitter, because he's a fan. so i said, "yeah, sure." and he was 15 at the time? yeah. and this is over a decade ago? but i follow... 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, 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 and have a look, for sure. which he did. how old was he when he first said to you, i'm interested in television? 19 then, i would think. to be absolutely clear, how old was this young man when you first had any kind of sexual contact with him? 20. let me ask you, did you have any kind of sexual relationship or sex with him when he was underage? no, god, no.

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 we become mates. we were mates. and then in my dressing room one day... ..something happened. which, you know, obviously, i will... ..regret foreverfor 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 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. holly did not know. nobody knew. i mean, the reason this matters is because it is about potential abuse of power. and it is... i understand that. and that is a very, very valid question to put to me. and i think if it was male—female, then it wouldn't be such a scandal. there is there is an enormous amount of homophobia. and we'd like to think that we'd move forward in 2023. is this the tip of the iceberg? are there more allegations of revelations to come, or as far as you're concerned it's all out? my biggest, sorriest secret.

and finally, what would you say to the young man in question? to whom i am the most sorry. by getting involved with me i have caused you so much pain, i'll never forgive myself that i made a bad judgment call. phillip schofield, thank you so much for your time. thanks. amol rajan was talking to phillip schofield there. if you've been affected by any of the issues raised in that interview, you can find organisations offering help and support on the bbc action line website — bbc.co.uk/actionline. you can also call the number on your screen. joining me now is our media correspondent, david sillito. we had an extract from that interview last night. what does the full interview tell us? i think anyone that watches it would

agree that phillip schofield looks a broken man and also very alone and he does admit that he did something very wrong and it does raise issues. the story he tells, i mean, it begins with a school visit and a number of years later a sexual encounter with a work colleague in dressing rooms of itv and mps will be asking questions about, well, it's about possible abuse of power, safeguarding and duty of care. now, that's an important word and phillip schofield made explicit reference letter caroline flack, the presenter of love island who took her own life in 2020 and her mother has this evening been speaking to newsnight and saying that, well, this does raise issues for television and those in the high media storm. they treat them as commodities. and i know it's a lovelyjob. and i know the money, but also the television stations that earn money from them.

but they're not commodities. they're people. and they're employed. and if my employer didn't take care of me, that there'd be hell to pay. now, itv has of course already announced an external led inquiry into this and this evening it says it feels badly let down by phillip schofield but says it takes duty of care seriously and has a robust and well established processes in place. david, thank you, david sillitoe. and if you want to watch the full interview with phillip schofield you can find it on the bbc iplayer now. in india, at least 80 people have been killed and 850 injured in a train collision in the eastern state of 0disha, according to local officials. it's thought that a passenger train derailed and was struck by another on the adjacent track. dozens of ambulances have been sent to the scene in the district of balasore. 0ur south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan reports. it was supposed to be

an overnight train journey, but ended up in a disaster in the middle of the countryside. carriages were toppled due to the powerful impact, smashing open the compartments. rescue teams and residents climbed up the mangled wreckage to find survivors. distraught relatives were praying for the safe recovery of their loved ones. |translation: ten, 15 people fell| on me when the accident happened and everything was haywire. i hurt my hand and also the back of my neck. emergency teams are working through the night to try to rescue those trapped inside the carriages. the government has dispatched more than 60 ambulances to take the injured to various hospitals. it's not immediately clear what led to the derailment and subsequent collision. india has one of the largest train networks in the world and accidents are common,

despite successive government investing hundreds of millions of pounds to improve infrastructure. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. a 19—year—old man has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of six years for planning to stab police officers and soldiers. police believe matthew king, who converted to islam during lockdown and developed extremist views, could have been hours away from carrying out an attack when they arrested him. 0n the day before his arrest, cctv caught him outside an east london army barracks. borisjohnson has said he will hand over unredacted whatsapp messengers from when he was by minister to the covert inquiry. he says he has nothing to hide. the government has refused to hand over his and other confidential messages to the inquiry, which it set up. it's begun a legal challenge arguing that it

should not have to release messages that are not relevant to the inquiry�*s work. rail passengers faced yet more disruption today, as members of the rmt union walked out in a row over pay and conditions. tomorrow there will be further disruption, as train drivers walk out for the second time this week. 20,000 members of the rmt have been involved in today's strike action — including guards and station staff. these were the 1a train companies affected, with many running fewer services and finishing earlier than normal — and some knock—on effects in scotland and wales. tomorrow, around 12,000 members of the aslef union will take part in strike action. and here you can see a list of the companies affected, with some running no services at all. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin has more. they say cut backs... we say fight back! another strike, another picket line, this one in manchester. with only limited train services from here today, many passengers turned

to other options. manchester coach station was heaving. how many of you on the coach have specifically booked a coach because of today's train strike? on a normal strike day, we'd expect to see at least 80% more passengers travelling on our network than on an equivalent non—strike day. from here in manchester, for example, everything is sold out to london all the way through to tomorrow afternoon at the moment. tomorrow's walk—out by train drivers in the aslef union means some operators will run no services. that's affecting travel to a number of big events, including the all—manchester fa cup final at wembley. the golden ticket, this... football fan kieran is among those driving to london. it will have an impact on us as well because the roads will be busier than what they normally are. and it's saturday and it's london as well and it's the busiest time of the week, isn't it? i heard you've got an extra passenger this time? we have. so there's four of us tomorrow — two from the blue side,

two from the red side, which will be interesting. it'll be interesting on the way home because one of us will be happy, one of us won't be so happy. these strikes have been going on for nearly a year now. maintenance workers and signallers who work for network rail have accepted a deal, but the rmt�*s dispute with 1a train companies goes on and, at the moment, is at a standstill. industry negotiators and the government, which controls how much money is on the table, called the latest offer fair and reasonable. it includes a 5% pay rise one year and 4% the next. the rmt rejected that on the basis that the national dispute would have to be ended before changes to ways of working have been agreed with individual operators. we can't accept them imposing change, imposing job cuts, imposing ripping up our conditions. pay is not at the forefront of this deal. our members wantjob security and they want their conditions protected. after 29 days of strike action and counting, and given the impact on the economy, the rail industry, workers and confidence in rail travel, both sides in the dispute insist

they want a deal, although no fresh talks are currently in the diary. and without a breakthrough, further industrial action does feel very likely. here at manchester piccadilly, normally a very busy station, it's been quiet today. now it's completely empty. there are no more trains scheduled in or out of here today on the main entrances and shuttered up. after tomorrow's train drivers upon of strike attention will turn on whether more progress can be made in these very long—running disputes to try and prevent further strikes. thank you, katy austin reporting there. attacks on ukraine's cities have intensified in recent weeks, with people living with the constant threat of russian missile and drone strikes. today, the united states said president putin's invasion has proved to be a "strategic failure" which will diminish russia's power and influence for years to come. russia controls large areas of east and south ukraine,

but there's been no decisive victory and its occupation comes at huge cost. the us estimates that more than 200,000 russian soldiers may have been killed or wounded in the conflict. in recent weeks there have also been a small number of drone strikes in russia — which the authorities blame on ukraine — and shelling of border areas. russia accuses the west of fuelling the conflict. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg has been to the city of yaroslavl to gauge the public mood, and the music you will hear is played and composed by him. piano music. this is yaroslavl, about 150 miles from moscow. legend has it that 1000 years ago here, a prince killed a bear which had been unleashed on him by his enemies, and he celebrated by founding this town. now, a lot has changed in a thousand years.

today, vladimir putin portrays russia as a bear, a bear that's under attack. he has claimed that the west is trying to put chains around russia, to pull out russia's fangs and claws. but do russians actually believe that narrative? this is a good opportunity to gauge the mood. it's city day, it's yaroslavl�*s annual street party and they've gone ahead with it despite russia's war in ukraine. it feels kind of strange really, because on the one hand it's a celebration, but mixed in are reminders of the so—called special military operation. for example, i've just seen some volunteers who are demonstrating how they make battlefield camouflage for russian troops in ukraine. they even sew in 0rthodox icons to the clothes they're making and they make socks for soldiers too.

and one of the volunteers i spoke to, a teacher, had this message for the west. translation: the russian bear won't i hurt you if you don't frighten him. . that's the golden rule. piano music. now, look at this, this is the so—called rock of friendship. it features the names of towns and cities twinned with yaroslavl, so for example there is exeter in britain, burlington in america, poitiers in france, although some of these places have suspended ties over russia's war in ukraine. now, because western nations have been supporting ukraine, one local activist here is campaigning to get this rock removed. translation: carved into this rock are names of twin towns _ from countries that are now russia's enemies. if the west didn't help ukraine, the conflict would have been over long ago. but listen to what the public has

to say about the idea of removing the monument. translation: this is our history. it shouldn't be removed. history should be left alone. translation: i think it's wrong to remove monuments. - we need to find a common language with each other. translation: we shouldn't break off relations completely. _ this will end soon and everything will be ok, both countries will reconcile. piano music. rock solid is what i thought relations would be between russia and the west post—communism. well, that didn't work out. instead, today, from morning till night, state tv here tells russians that it's the west, not russia, that started the war in ukraine, and that the west is trying to destroy russia, and many people here do believe that — but not everyone. and that story with the rock

of friendship and what people on the street were telling me about it, to me that suggests there are some russians who do want a stronger relationship with the west, and who are hoping that their country takes a different direction. our russia editor steve rosenberg reporting on public opinion there. let's speak now to our north america editor sarah smith, who is outside the white house for us. we've just heard the views on the street from one russian city. do the us secretary of state's words today give any hope for diplomacy? they gave us some clues as to what the us thinks is going to happen next and some warnings about some possible diplomatic moves. it is pretty clear from what antony blinken was saying. the us officials are worried that the ukrainian

counter offensive, if it doesn't make some dramatic gains will start calls from other countries for a ceasefire. that will sound attractive as a way to stop the killing, we should be very careful because a ceasefire would effectively freeze in place, the current territorial lines. he said that would legitimise russia's land grab, it would effectively reward the aggressor and punish the victim. that is something he was warning against. clearly the us wants to continue strengthening ukrainian defence forces in order that they can take on russia. also, if and when we ever do reach a point where there are peace negotiations going on, the other thing antony blinken said was making any territorial concessions would just encourage future aggression. that sounds as though the us doesn't currently think it will be putting any pressure on ukraine to give up any land in talks with russia looking further into the future.- further into the future. sarah smith, further into the future. sarah smith. many _ further into the future. sarah smith, many thanks. - scientists say they've had very

promising results from an nhs trial of a blood test that can detect 50 types of cancer. the test is particularly good at spotting where many cancers start, but it's not yet accurate enough to be rolled out. our medical editor, fergus walsh, has this report. scientists believe we are edging ever closer to a blood test which can reliably detect and rule out cancer. this one developed by californian company grail. so how does it work? the grail test looks for fragments of cancer dna which have broken off from a tumor and are circulating in the bloodstream. in the biggest trial of its kind, a team at oxford university monitored over 5000 people who went to their gp in england and wales with cancer symptoms. the blood test correctly identified two out of three cancer cases. now what that means for patients is that 75% of those with a positive blood test did have cancer, which was confirmed by conventional methods like scans. but 2.5% who had a negative

test also had cancer, which is why researchers describe it as a work in progress, not accurate enough to be used in daily practice. what's exciting, researchers, is that where cancer was identified in 85% of cases, the blood test was able to pinpoint the original site of the cancer. this is crucial, as often people go to their doctor with only vague symptoms like weight loss and abdominal pain. a major trial called nhs gallery is under way with 140,000 healthy volunteers to see if the blood test can detect early signs of cancer. the first results are due next year, and if successful, the nhs in england plans to extend the roll—out to a further one million people. fergus walsh, bbc news. the bbc understands a second formal

complaint has been made against the labour mp geraint davies. the swansea west mp was suspended from the labour party yesterday following reports of �*completely unacceptable behaviour�*. he is accused of subjecting younger female colleagues to unwanted sexual attention, but has said he does not recognise the allegations. the coach of roma, jose mourinho, has been charged by european football's governing body uefa for using insulting or abusive language against an official at wednesday's europa league final. he was booked by english referee anthony taylor in budapest in a match that saw his side beaten by sevilla. taylor was subsequently accosted by angry fans at the airport. andy swiss reports. confronted and abused. in the grey t—shirt, referee anthony taylor — along with his family — evading a crowd of angry supporters as they left budapest airport. scuffles breaking out and missiles thrown as they eventually

escaped to safety. just a few hours earlier, taylor had shown a record 1a yellow cards, including one to roma boss jose mourinho, during a bad—tempered europa league final. and in the car park afterwards, mourinho confronted him. bleep. he swore at taylor, who was off camera, and has now been charged by uefa with using abusive language. the scenes at the airport have also been condemned. the referee's body the pgmol said it was appalled by what it called the unjustified and abhorrent abuse at anthony and his family. and for one of the game's top officials, there has been support from one of its top managers. i am so sorry for the images i saw, for anthony taylor, i am so sorry. so hopefully it doesn't happen again. and all this comes at a time when the treatment of grassroots referees is also under scrutiny. in a recent bbc questionnaire, nearly a third said they had

been physically abused. dave bradshaw has been a referee for nearly 30 years and he told me that the scenes at the airport involving anthony taylor raised the most serious questions. disgusting, absolutely shambolic, awful, i don't know how to describe it. and you look at it, the poor guy and his family were scared stiff. and what sort of people, thugs, do that? this is just football in the end. i have said in the past, when i got badly assaulted, it's just a matter of time — i hope i'm wrong — before a referee gets seriously injured or killed. uefa say they vehemently condemn the violence towards anthony taylor, but the question of how football treats its officials is once again under the spotlight. andy swiss, bbc news. british number one cameron norrie is out of the french open. he was beaten in straight sets

in the third round by italy's lorenzo musetti. norrie's exit means there are no british players left in the singles at roland garros. manchester city's norwegian striker erling haaland has played a starring role this season, leading the club to the verge of an historic treble. the premier league winners take on manchester united in the fa cup final tomorrow and inter milan in the champions league final onjune 10th. haaland has scored an astonishing 52 goals across all competitions this season, and he's been talking to our sports editor dan roan. he's the norwegian super scorer who's taken the premier league by storm. in a remarkable debut season in england, manchester city's erling haaland has established himself as world football's most feared striker. and here at the club's training ground, he told me how he was handling sporting superstardom aged just 22. it's nice. that means that i've done something right. my life has changed, of course. i can't live normal,

so normal, any more. that's something ijust have to admit and that's how my life is. i can't complain. when i was young, i wanted to be a professional footballer and the best in the world. there are certain things you have to do different. you have to live different, you have to do this and that, and that's just how it is. your dream, you say, was to be the best in the world. have you achieved that dream? do you believe you are the best goal—scorer in the world right now? good question. i don't want to answer that. i think someone else should answer that. but i scored the most goals this season, i think, so that's a good start. and what is it about pep guardiola that makes him different, special, unique? is itjust the attention to detail? i think it's different person to person or player to player because everyone's different, so everyone maybe needs a different approach on how to handle things or how to develop, or whatever. he sees things other people don't see. do you think you can improve? yeah, from my right foot to my left foot, from the heading, everything.

cheering. having helped city retain the premier league title, haaland's now preparing for the fa cup final against archrivals manchester united, and then the champions league final. at stake, a first treble since united managed it 2a years ago. because of the history, they will be motivated. it's at wembley, it's a final, there's so many things, so it will not be an easy game. so that's what i'm saying — we have to play our game, we have to not think too much. champions league, i must ask you, is there something about that competition here in manchester, because it's the one that they've so far struggled to achieve? and what would it mean, do you think, to land it? it would mean everything. and this is why they brought me, of course, to the club, to get this. we don't have to hide that. so i will do everything i can, i possibly can, to try and make it happen. and, yeah, it's my biggest dream. and hopefully dreams do come true.

time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. the weekend is here and no shortage of sunshine in the forecast. a beautiful end to the day for this weather watcher in warwickshire. one thing that has been a shortage of lately is rainfall. in fact, there are quite a few places in the south and west of the uk that have not seen any measurable rain now for more than three weeks. i don't think there is much, or indeed any in the forecast. this chart shows the rainfall we are expecting to accumulate over the next five days, unlike southern europe which remains very wet. for us, it remains pretty much dry. dry out there during tonight. little bit patchy cloud drifting westwards across england, may be into east wales, more cloud into the north of scotland. for

most, clearskies. if you into the north of scotland. for most, clear skies. if you can see these small