with the parents of the young person telling the paper they spoke out to protect their child. we'll be looking at the legal and privacy issues surrounding this case, and also at the many questions remaining for the bbc. also on the programme... a teacher is stabbed at a school in gloucestershire — a teenage boy is being questioned on suspicion of attempted murder. glad to have herfinally out, safe and sound. it was a bit scary, but it was fine because the teachers were taking care of us. band plays the star-spangled banner. a royal welcome for president biden at windsor castle on a flying visit to the uk. title, is through to the quarterfinals. on newsnight at 10:30pm —

we'll go deeper behind the headlines and speak live to key players on today's big stories. plus a first look at tomorrow's front pages. good evening. more information has emerged concerning allegations that a bbc presenter paid a teenager tens of thousands of pounds for sexually explicit images. the young person, now aged 20, has claimed via a lawyer that nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place, and that the claims that first emerged in the sun newspaper are "rubbish", and an invasion of their privacy. the sun tonight says it stands by its story. meanwhile, the metropolitan police say they are making further inquiries, but there is currently no investigation under way. the male presenter, who has been suspended, has not been named. in a moment, we'll look at the legal

implications surrounding this case, and we'll assess the questions remaining for the bbc. but first, let's talk to our media editor katie razzall. katie, tell us what's happened? ina in a story where few facts are actually known, tonight we are very much in the territory of one person's word against another�*s and a mother and stepfather pitted against their child, a bbc presenter and the bbc itself. for the first time, we at the bbc have had our own contact with the lawyer acting for the young person involved in this. they have told us one thing, effectively, that the story as reported by the sun is untrue and now the sun's front page tonight recently published says quite another thing. the parents say they stand by their account and in an interview, they say they did it to help and the presenter has got into their loved one's head, as they put it. the stepfather says the claims tonight on behalf of the young person are not true and they accuse the bbc of lying about what happened

when they made their complaint. so where does that leave us? not much clearer perhaps. this is my account of how has unfolded. the story has dominated the front pages for days, driven by the sun newspaper, which first reported it in its saturday editions. now a lawyer for the young person at the centre of the allegations has told the bbc that on friday, via whatsapp, they told the sun the statement by their mother was totally wrong and there was no truth in it, adding, "nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place and the allegations are rubbish". the sun newspaper has pushed back tonight, telling the bbc its story was about two concerned parents who made a complaint about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child. their complaint was not acted upon by the bbc. "we have seen evidence that supports their concerns," they say, adding it is now for the bbc to properly investigate. time is of the essence because it is not fair on victims, it is not fair on people who could be implicated and it is not fair on the bbc,

which does an importantjob. you know, i am not here to, as it were, bash the bbc, but i do think they to get their house in order and they need to proceed properly, otherwise you will have plenty of collateral victims. according to the sun, for three years, the presenter paid ten of thousands of pounds in exchange for sexually explicit images to a person who was 17 when it began — a potential criminal offence. the family told the paper they were frustrated that the presenter remained on tv after they approached the bbc. so what do we know about the timeline of events? the family complained to the corporation on the 19th of may. nearly two months on, last thursday, the bbc says it received new allegations. the next day, the sun published claims that a bbc presenter paid a teenager for explicit images. on sunday, the bbc suspended the presenter. i think one of the questions that will come out of this in the inevitable inquiry is who did the complaint come into and did they escalate it fast enough and in future, should a red flag go up when an issue of this seriousness comes in, whether or not there is a huge

amount of information or not, that it should go straight to senior management and that they should deal with the issue immediately. escalation yesterday involved a referral of the allegations to the police. today, after a virtual meeting with the met�*s specialist crime command, the police said they are working to establish whether there is evidence of a criminal offence. there is, they added, no investigation at this time. until it is clearer, until we have a greater knowledge from possibly the police, the bbc itself, the alleged victim or the victim's mother, in this case, it is very hard to know exactly what we are criticising the bbc for. the acting bbc chairman is only in her role after the resignation of the politically appointed former chairman richard sharp. now the corporation is at the centre of another crisis. tomorrow, she and the director—general, tim davie, will have to face the media as they launch the annual report, with the corporation

in the eye of a storm. in a moment, we'll speak to our legal correspondent dominic casciani. but first to the bbc�*s media editor, katie razzall. you've been reporting on this all weekend. what should people bear in mind as they are following this? i think it is important to say when it comes to the legal letter we received at the bbc this afternoon, we have not had our own contact with the young person and we don't know their identity, despite our efforts. we have not seen any of the sun's evidence for its stories or the dossier the paper says was added to the bbc by the family over the weekend. ijust think it is a really difficult and complicated situation and one that is fairly challenging to report. the claims in the letter and the counterclaims by the family are another twist in a story that has plunged the bbc into crisis. dominic, we've been talking a lot about the privacy issues surrounding this case. how does this letter from the young person's lawyer feed into those issues? i think it is a really, really

important development in this story, as is the _ important development in this story, as is the sun's latest story tonight, _ as is the sun's latest story tonight, i'm going to take each of them _ tonight, i'm going to take each of them in _ tonight, i'm going to take each of them in turn because the law of privacy— them in turn because the law of privacy is — them in turn because the law of privacy is there to effectively protect — privacy is there to effectively protect reputations and careers and futures _ protect reputations and careers and futures from undue harm, because there _ futures from undue harm, because there are _ futures from undue harm, because there are many things in our private lives which — there are many things in our private lives which are simply nobody else's business _ lives which are simply nobody else's business. they are private to us. if you analyse — business. they are private to us. if you analyse this letter, what this law firm — you analyse this letter, what this law firm is— you analyse this letter, what this law firm is saying on behalf of their— law firm is saying on behalf of their client, and this is not a modest _ their client, and this is not a modest high street firm, they are a decent _ modest high street firm, they are a decent sized firm in the centre of london. — decent sized firm in the centre of london. is — decent sized firm in the centre of london, is they are saying there is a repeated — london, is they are saying there is a repeated breach of privacy here in this reporting, even though the individual— this reporting, even though the individual has not been named and nor has _ individual has not been named and nor has the — individual has not been named and nor has the presenter. the young person— nor has the presenter. the young person denies involvement in unlawful— person denies involvement in unlawful or inappropriate activity and they — unlawful or inappropriate activity and they are effectively saying, if you carry — and they are effectively saying, if you carry on doing this and if you were _ you carry on doing this and if you were to — you carry on doing this and if you were to name our client, this is effectively _ were to name our client, this is effectively the subject, you might end effectively the subject, you might ehd up— effectively the subject, you might end up irr— effectively the subject, you might end up in court. that is effectively what _ end up in court. that is effectively what the — end up in court. that is effectively what the warning comes down to although— what the warning comes down to although there is no warning as such in the _ although there is no warning as such in the letter. if you take that as a starting _ in the letter. if you take that as a

starting point, ithink in the letter. if you take that as a starting point, i think it is really interesting to have a look at what the sun _ interesting to have a look at what the sun has said tonight, there is one line — the sun has said tonight, there is one line that sticks out to me, in the story, — one line that sticks out to me, in the story, it _ one line that sticks out to me, in the story, it quotes the stepfather saying. _ the story, it quotes the stepfather saying. "i — the story, it quotes the stepfather saying, "i told the bbc i had gone to the _ saying, "i told the bbc i had gone to the police in desperation, but they could — to the police in desperation, but they could not do anything because they could not do anything because they said _ they could not do anything because they said it was not illegal." we are hot— they said it was not illegal." we are not quite sure exactly what that relates _ are not quite sure exactly what that relates to _ are not quite sure exactly what that relates to but from the perspective of this— relates to but from the perspective of this young person, and thinking about— of this young person, and thinking about this — of this young person, and thinking about thisjustin pugh legal terms, if nothing — about thisjustin pugh legal terms, if nothing has been done which is wrong, _ if nothing has been done which is wrong, what is the case for this person— wrong, what is the case for this person to — wrong, what is the case for this person to be named or the presenter to be _ person to be named or the presenter to be named? i think this is why there _ to be named? i think this is why there is— to be named? i think this is why there is so— to be named? i think this is why there is so much at stake here. going _ there is so much at stake here. going to — there is so much at stake here. going to the scotland yard statement, really telling that they are assessing the information but it has not _ are assessing the information but it has not yet — are assessing the information but it has not yet crossed a criminal threshotd _ has not yet crossed a criminal threshold for them and i think the from _ threshold for them and i think the from that— threshold for them and i think the from that is, we are not the only ones _ from that is, we are not the only ones who— from that is, we are not the only ones who at— from that is, we are not the only ones who at the moment are really uhsure _ ones who at the moment are really unsure about exactly what has been going _ unsure about exactly what has been going oh~ _ unsure about exactly what has been aroin on. . ~' ,, unsure about exactly what has been aoian on. ., ~ i. as well as the questions surrounding the sun story, there are many questions that have gone as yet unanswered by the bbc. ros atkins is here to explain.

thanks, reeta. the bbc says it received a complaint on the 19th of may, over seven weeks ago. it was then notified of the sun's allegations last thursday, four days ago. and the bbc has provided very little detail on what it's been doing about all of this. and that raises lots of questions. before i work through some of them, it's worth saying bbc news' reporting is independent of the bbc as an organisation. we're working to cover this just as other news organisations are. and these are four questions about the bbc�*s role in this story that bbc news is trying to answer. first, how was the original complaint to the bbc made? despite us asking several times, including today, the bbc hasn't said where the complaint was made, how it was made or who it was made to. next, what was the nature of the original complaint? the bbc hasn't told us that either.

on sunday, bbc director—general tim davie said the sun's allegations differed to the complaint in may. mr davie didn't say how. next, what did the bbc do after the original complaint? the bbc has confirmed that after it was made, its investigations unit began an investigation. in a statement on friday, the bbc said that in these circumstances, they would "actively attempt" to speak to those who have contacted them. beyond that, the bbc hasn't given us any detail of the work that's been done by its own investigations unit. this evening, the sun is reporting that the young person's stepdad "put the allegations" to the bbc "for an hour". and finally, when were bbc management told about all of this? it's understood the first tim davie heard about the allegations was last thursday. the bbc hasn't said who, if anyone, in senior management was told about the investigation over the weeks beforehand. tim davie told staff on sunday

that the bbc is "working rapidly to establish the facts". that would concern both the allegations and what the bbc has done about them. but over seven weeks since the first complaint, four days since the sun's allegations, the bbc is still unable or unwilling to provide more detail of what its own processes and management have been doing since the original complaint arrived. back to you. thank you. a teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a male teacher was stabbed at a secondary school in gloucestershire. the teacher at tewkesbury academy was taken to hospital but has been discharged this evening. the boy was arrested a few miles from the school at 11 o'clock, around two hours after the attack. our correspondent phil mackie reports. the stabbing happened just after the start of the school day, prompting a massive response. this was just over an hour later,

when gloucestershire police were still sending reinforcements to secure the site, and while the person they were looking for was still at large. at about the same time, the first message was sent to parents confirming the school was in lockdown. then at 11:30 came confirmation that a member of staff had been wounded. specialist resources, including the national police air service and plainclothes officers were deployed to search the wider area, and thanks to their efforts, the suspect was safely arrested by firearms officers. a knife was seized during that arrest. anxious parents gathered outside waiting for news, many in phone contact with their children. the teacher has been absolutely phenomenal. i've been getting some videos from my daughter and i canjust see him, he's there supporting the whole class. he's sat right by the door as well. he barricaded it, like, he must have been scared himself. eventually, around one o'clock, the pupils were let out. so it's been a really frightening

few hours for all of the children who are nowjust coming out and especially for the families who've been waiting to see them. they've been in lockdown whilst the police have made sure that the site is safe. but now they can finally get back to their loved ones. mightily relieved to see each other, i suppose. definitely, yeah, yeah. just glad to have her finally out, safe and sound. shocked, really. you always think it's never going to happen on your doorstep. and when you saw the police coming in, how did you feel about that? it was a bit scary, but it was fine because the teachers _ were taking care of us. pupils say the teacher who was attacked was well—liked and none could understand why anyone would target him. tonight, some good news — he was released from hospital. and for hundreds of families, there were relieved reunions at the end of a frightening day. phil mackie, bbc news, tewkesbury. on the eve of a summit in lithuania, the head of nato says

turkey's president erdogan has agreed to support sweden's bid to join the western defence alliance, after resisting it for many months. our europe editor, katya adler, is in the lithuanian capital, vilnius, for us. katya, how significant is this? it is really significant. and important for nato. turkey have been blocking swedenjoining nato because it said the country was too sympathetic and too soft on kurdish separatists and also not respectful enough towards muslims, it said. there have been a number of incidents of the burning of the koran. sweden says it was working towards allaying some of those fears and tonight, a huge sigh of relief from a toe. my phone has been alive with messages from nato diplomats because tonight is the eve of a high—profile nato summit withjoe biden, rishi sunak, emmanuel macron

and olaf scholz among other leaders coming to town. the focus of their summit, determined unity and continued support for ukraine and unity in the face of russian aggression. so turkey changing its mind helps that besic. turkey hopes it can show vladimir putin that his expansion ukraine is counter—productive. sweden and finland arejoining nato because counter—productive. sweden and finland are joining nato because of his invasion in ukraine. ukraine also wants tojoin his invasion in ukraine. ukraine also wants to join nato as a fully fledged member. that is a lot more complicated and will be discussed in detail here over the next two days at the nato summit.— at the nato summit. katya adler, thank yom _ ahead of that nato summit, the us presidentjoe biden has paid a flying visit to the uk before travelling on to lithuania. this afternoon he met the king at windsor castle to discuss their shared interest in tackling climate change. president biden also met rishi sunak at number 10, where they held talks over a cup of tea.

our political editor chris mason reports. fanfare. descending behind the ancient walls. not many helicopters get a musical accompaniment. but marine one, as it's known, does, bringing the president to windsor castle. this wasn't a state visit, but there was a splash of pageantry courtesy of the welsh guards. british diplomacy, best outfits on, volume notched up. earlier at number 10, the red carpet sorted. now get the cat out of the way. the press pack, poised, cameras trained — the president is here. joe biden arrives here in downing street, his first visit here as president, to be met

by the prime minister. are you pleased to be i here, president biden? this visit does coincide with a public difference between london and washington. america is going to supply ukraine with cluster bombs, weapons the uk and many others have banned. but today, both men wanted to focus on the bigger picture. joe, welcome. it's great to have you here, back in downing street. i think you've been here a few times before, i know, but your first time as president. so we're very privileged and fortunate to have you here. thanks for coming. couldn't be meeting with a closer friend and a greater ally. the two leaders talked of closer economic ties short of a trade deal, energy security, and the regulation of artificial intelligence. the president and the prime minister met for around 30 or a0 minutes, meeting on the eve of the nato summit starting tomorrow in lithuania, as the allies debate and discuss when ukraine should be allowed to join and, crucially, how it wins the war.

while in the uk, few american presidents would turn down tea with the british monarch. the king showed joe biden around windsor castle... your majesty. mr president, welcome. ..where theyjoined a discussion about the environment and climate change. his visit here was brief, too. by mid—afternoon, the president set off for lithuania and the nato summit aboard air force one. the prime minister will follow him there tomorrow. chris mason, bbc news. it's been revealed that russia's president vladimir putin held talks with wagner mercenaries just days after he publicly accused them of treachery for launching a failed mutiny two weeks ago. the kremlin has confirmed that the wagner leader yegveny prigozhin was among those present at three hours of talks in the kremlin, where his mercenaries are said to have declared their loyalty to the president. our russia editor steve rosenberg joins us from moscow.

so, another strange twist in this story, steve. what's actually going on? strange twist, bizarre. what can you say? it is very strange indeed. on the day of the mutiny vladimir putin had called the organisers traitors who had stamped rusher in the back. he promised they would be punished. five days later, goodness me, he was sitting down with them in the kremlin, with yevgeny prigozhin, the commanders of wagner, chatting about what had happened. what does this tell us about the relationship between wagner and the kremlin? we knew they were very close. putin had admitted the state has been financing wagner. so was this three—hour meeting in the kremlin a sort of post—mutiny postmortem, an attempt to reboot or rebuild what had been a pretty effective fighting force for the kremlin? we don't know. we don't know how the meeting

ended. what we do know is that state media here continues to try to discredit yevgeny prigozhin. last night state tv said he is not the robin hood he tries to pass himself off as. he is a businessman with a criminal past who was involved in dodgy dealings. but for now mr prigozhin is a free man. so what will happen next? i wish i knew. my advice, stay tuned for the next bizarre episode in putin and prigozhin. steve rosenberg in moscow, thank you. an inquiry into the deaths of babies in nottingham is expected to become the biggest maternity investigation in nhs history. around 1700 families who received maternity care from the nottingham university hospitals nhs trust are to have their cases reviewed. a previous investigation found dozens of babies died or were left with serious injuries while in its care. the trust has previously apologised. our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports.

this damage was all so preventable. why was there this massive cover—up? sarah and jack hawkins lost their daughter harriet before birth in 2016, due to failures in maternity care. her avoidable death turned them into reluctant campaigners, who have become all too aware they are not alone. we hear that people don't really believe it is true that there is a maternity scandal. today, surely they can no longer hide from the fact that the maternity department here have harmed so many people. we are talking people that have left the hospital without their organs, empty car seats. we carried a tiny white coffin. it is just, it is absolutely horrific. i am sarah hawkins. my daughter harriet... ..died in 2016. her death was completely preventable. the couple were among families who attended a meeting today

where the trust promised to both improve its care and its attitude, removing what it called a brick wall that had developed whenever families raised questions. i think we made a start today of making it absolutely clear that we recognise our failings, that we want to regain the trust of the public, that we want to come and meet them on their terms as we have done today, listen to them, because in listening, we hope we can make any changes stick. the vast majority of cases in the review date from 2012, and include deaths and injuries to both mothers and babies. the chair of the inquiry, which started last year, says some improvements have become obvious. one of the key themes that is already coming out, and i have shared that with the trust, is this blindness, almost, to the fact that mothers are in labour and they do need help and they need to come in to hospital. the problems in nottingham will add to the issues already revealed in morecambe bay and east kent

and shrewsbury and telford. the bottom line is that, according to inspectors, around four in ten maternity units across england are rated as either "requires improvement" or "inadequate." the review, whenever it is published, will finally publicly recognise years of hidden hurt. michael buchanan, bbc news, nottingham. a witness has told a jury at southwark crown court how the hollywood actor kevin spacey allegedly drugged him, and sexually assaulted him as he slept. the oscar—winner is on trial, accused of historic offences against four men. mr spacey denies all 12 charges. easyjet has cancelled around 1,700 flights injuly, august and september travelling to and from gatwick airport. the company said 95% of affected passengers had been rebooked onto alternative flights. the airline says the threat of industrial action and the war in ukraine have created "challenging conditions" in air traffic control.

a new scanning technique has been developed that can see inside the body in unprecedented detail, using a transparent mouse. a chemical process used on the mouse after it has died means it is entirely see through, and has enabled the scanner to detect cancerous tumours much earlier than usual, just at the moment they are forming. the scientists say it could be revolutionary for medical research. our science correspondent pallab ghosh has the story. meet the transparent mouse. everything inside, its nerves, tissues and organs, all made invisible. it's done by removing all the fat and pigment from its body after it's killed using a chemical process. and then it's bathed in different chemicals to reveal the parts the german developers want to study. under the microscope, they're searching for cancer tumours shown in small pink and white dots throughout the body.

compare this image to a conventional scan, which shows only two of the largest concentration of tumours. it enables to see every single cancer at single cell level. because diseases like cancer, they kill at cell level. so if we don't see them, we cannot treat them. this technology enables us to see this hidden enemy. in green are the nerve endings outside the mouse's body. different chemicals show different tissue. inside, the purple tube snaking around is part of its digestive system. we can even look in the tube. medical researchers try out new drugs and treatments on mice first before trying them out on people. the new scanning technique enables scientists to see things they've never seen before. it also has the potential to improve the way in which new drugs are developed and tested. and it could greatly accelerate

the understanding of hundreds, if not thousands, of diseases. currently, scientists slice up tissues into very thin sections to study them under a microscope. uk researchers are excited about this new way of analysing their samples. the potential that it has to be able to identify various tissues, cells, structures and also understanding really the development of diseases, we can't wait to get our hands on the technique. muzlifah haniffa is imaging cells to help create an online map, or atlas, of every cell in the human body. she says the new scanning technique will be useful for all kinds of medical research. without a doubt it will accelerate the pace of medical research. i mean, combining these types of fantastic, cutting edge technologies and building the human cell atlas will no doubt completely revolutionise medicine.

a whole human won't be made transparent because the process would kill the patient. but it could still be used to study donated tissues and organs, to study human diseases — something scientists say will transform our understanding of how our bodies work. pallab ghosh, bbc news. wimbledon now, and the defending men's champion novak djokovic is safely through to the quarterfinals after he beat hubert hurkacz in four sets. the reigning women's champion, elena rybakina, is also through. but there was frustration for the russian 16—year—old mirra andreeva, whose remarkable run came to a controversial end. our sports correspondent andy swiss reports. it's become one of sport's most familiar celebrations. it's now a decade since novak djokovic lost a match on centre court. although he did lose a set to poland's hubert hurkacz. but it was soon back to business as usual. djokovic safely into the quarterfinals and still the man to beat.

although carlos alcaraz might have other ideas. why hit over the net when you can just hit round it? a stroke of genius from the world number one as he beat matteo berrettini. other more unheralded stars have emerged, though. chris eubanks, six foot seven, with an even bigger personality. over five scintillating sets he blazed past stefanos tsitsipas. in the women's singles, last year's finalists elena rybakina and ons jabeur are both safely through. in fact they will now meet in the quarterfinals. but there was disappointment for one of the game's most exciting talents. 16—year—old mirra andreeva won the first set against madison keys but then it all went wrong. after being twice warned after being twice warned for throwing her racket, for throwing her racket, she was docked a point. she was docked a point. umpire: point penalty, umpire: point penalty, mirra andreeva. - i didn't throw the racket, i fell.

mirra andreeva. - that gave match point to keys, which she promptly took. andreeva refused to shake andreeva refused to shake the umpire's hand afterwards, but she will surely be back. the umpire's hand afterwards, andy swiss, bbc news, wimbledon. andy swiss, bbc news, wimbledon. time for a look at the weather. time for a look at the weather. here's chris fawkes. here's chris fawkes. our weather is kind of in a stock our weather is kind of in a stock pattern at the moment meaning we pattern at the moment meaning we have lots of more unsettled weather have lots of more unsettled weather coming away with loads of showers in coming away with loads of showers in the forecast. today we saw heavy the forecast. today we saw heavy downpours, this was one of them downpours, this was one of them passing across the skies in passing across the skies in highland. some of the heaviest highland. some downpours across the south west of scotland. we have had 50 millimetres downpours across the south west of scotland. we have had 50 millimetres of rain in the space of an hour in of rain in the space of an one area and that heavy rain is scotland. we have had 50 millimetres of rain in the spa( heavyr scotland. we have had 50 millimetres of rain in the spa( heavy rain is working its way across central and one area and that heavy rain is working its way across central and eastern scotland, pushing its way eastern scotland, across the court of the night. working its way across central and easter the otland, working its way across central and easter the court , working its way across central and easter the court of another band of rain in the south bringing heavy downpours across parts of the midlands, lincolnshire east anglia. across the south—east,

a warm and humid night