stephen was extremely angry about what happened to him and the more information and facts emerged, it proved to him that it could have been avoided. and he was absolutely enraged. he wanted to have some justice. it's thought 30,000 people were given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 80s. while some victims did get financial support, they had never received compensation. that changed last year when the first interim payments were made to 4000 people. he was actually 17 when he was told. then last april, the chair of the public inquiry into the scandal said full compensation should be paid and extended to the parents and children of those infected. despite pressure from the families involved,

here in downing street this week the government has yet to respond to that recommendation which could cost billions. so today the prime minister has been summoned to the inquiry to explain why. that's richard with his sister. bruce noseworthy�*s son richard was another infected with hiv as a child. he bore it better than we did, really, because we were watching him sort of go downhill, so to speak. that must have been very hard for you as a family. yeah. and his mother, particularly. she was a nurse, and so she knew the consequences of these things. richard died, aged just 2a, before treatments for hiv were available. how important would that compensation be for you? i thinkjust acceptance that they cocked up, you know, and really produced a series of events for a lot of people resulting in their deaths. so it would be like a compensation

for his absence, really. and that's what it amounts to, isn't it? well, this is richard... the government says it has accepted the moral case for compensation and is working quickly to consider the recommendations. as things stand, though, it looks like there'll be no final decision before the autumn when the inquiry�*s final report will be published. jim reed, bbc news. competition among renters is so intense that there are 20 requests to view each available property, according to data commissioned by the bbc from website rightmove. the average number of requests to see each home has more than tripled from six in 2019. 0ur cost of living correspondent, colletta smith, reports. and then you come to this amazing kitchen. look at this. wow. it's not easy to rent anywhere at the moment. prices are going up, landlords are selling up and there's more people hoping for a dream home. i could see me cooking in here. but here on the outskirts of preston, there's a particular problem.

nonstop. we've had phone calls, we've had people coming into the office. we've got loads of emails coming through. how many applications do you reckon you'll get for a place like this? well, so far we've got about 55 people who are interested in viewing. applications, we'll probably get, i would say, 20 out of the 50. wow! figures from rightmove show that there are now 30 enquiries for each rental property in the north west of england. you've got your own en suite. twice the amount of interest for properties in london. demi and andrew know that only too well, but after so many viewings, they're holding their breath again. what's that process been like, demi? stressful. very stressful. it's been about two, - three months we've been looking, haven't we ? yeah. you just go round in circles. it is very frustrating. some estate agents don't actually get back in touch with you. we've found that out. well, we both work. he's got his own inflatable business. i'm a self—employed beautician.

so even with the two wages coming in, it's not straightforward to get hold of somewhere to rent, then? no, definitely not. and you can have all the money in the world, but it'll still be a long process. but it's difficult. estate agents think the reason for the particular squeeze here is simple. there just isn't enough stock out there at the moment. and i don't think the government's building enough houses, either, so i think that's the crux of the matter, that there just aren't enough rental stocks out there at the moment. although you're joining a longer queue of people trying to rent properties here in the north—west of england, elsewhere in the country, your money doesn't stretch nearly as far. because in london it's all about price. for us, it meant that we had to offer over asking price by £200 a month. claudia and her boyfriend have just got a one—bed flat, but its cost them half their monthly income. we saw this flat, we loved it. we put in an asking price offer, which was 1,950 a month, and we got outbid by an over

asking price offer. so we ended up having to pay 2,150 a month instead of the asking price. although london prices are the most, price rises are happening everywhere. so we think that rents will probably keep rising around the 5% mark both this year and next year, and that will outpace house price growth. and so much of that comes down to the supply issue that we're facing here across great britain. and the fact that landlord costs are rising, too. wherever you live, there are things you can do to try and get your application to the top of the pile. try and turn up to a viewing with paperwork in your hand. don't forget to register with as many different estate agents as you can so that you can get alerts before properties are advertised. make sure that you're popping in and introducing yourself to an estate agent as well, so that you are at the front of their mind when properties are coming up on the market. this beautiful space... however long the list, demi and andrew haven't given up hope. it's lovely. i could see us here. yeah, i could see us here. coletta smith, bbc news, in leyland.

mps have warned that more nurseries could close unless the government adequately funds its plans to expand funded childcare in england. working parents of pre—school children from the age of nine months will be offered up to 30 hours of childcare paid for by the government from september 2025. 0ur education reporter, vanessa clarke, reports. and mouse took a stroll through the deep, dark wood. a fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good. these children are learning vital skills for life. but a new report highlights an early year sector that is struggling with nurseries, closing and staff leaving. the owner of this nursery says the amount they are paid for government—funded places is simply not enough. we need support from the government. for many years there's been quite a shortfall. we've had to kind of complement that in other ways or means, bank loans, etc, to be able to continue the level of high quality care that we provide at our provisions.

nurseries like this one are preparing for a huge change. over the next two years, the government will be paying for a significantly higher proportion of the hours used by children here and in nurseries across england. but mps are warning for the expansion to work. it is vital ministers get the funding right. i think there are big challenges of deliverability in terms of the government's plan and that's why we've made these recommendations. in fairness to the government, they have come up with more money. they've come up with more money this year and in future years, and they broadened the scope of that offer and that is all welcome. i think the committee broadly welcomes that. but what we're saying is that there are other burdens, other barriers that they should be removing from the sector, and they do need to make sure an ongoing basis that they're looking at that funding to make sure that they get it right. the government says they are rolling out the single biggest investment in child care in england ever and are investing hundreds

of millions of pounds each year to increase the amount they pay providers. but early years charities are still concerned about the expansion plans. without addressing underfunding and without addressing _ the workforce crisis, - there'sjust not going to be the nurseries, childminders or other childcare providers that deliver- the places that parents are going to need. - shall we give it all the mix? parents are already booking places at this nursery to take advantage of the government's new offer. the rollout begins in april. vanessa clarke, bbc news, salford. next, let's get an update on the birmingham bull — the mechanical sculpture that was used in the opening ceremony of the commonwealth games last year. it was saved from the scrap heap and given a new name, befitting of the city's most famous son — ozzy osbourne. john maguire has more. as the curtain came down on one of the greatest shows on earth, birmingham celebrated a job brilliantly done by showcasing one of its favorite sons.

0zzy 0sborne was the perfect ringmaster. birmingham forever! but vying with him to be one of the stars of the commonwealth games was the unlikely figure of a giant mechanical bull. introduced at the opening ceremony, it was a great symbol of the city, with its eyes ablaze and nostrils smoking. he was, though, destined for an ignominious end, bound for the scrapheap, until the public intervened and launched a campaign to save him. his saviours were then awarded naming rights, and, as 0zzy, he was rebranded and reborn. the man himself was speechless, almost. i can't believe it. i'm absolutely blown away. thank you for all your votes. i don't know what to say any more. i'm just thrilled to bits. god bless you all, and birmingham forever! he's been rebuilt piece by enormous piece, made fireproof and will once

again take centre stage. but now his bullring is birmingham new street, one of the busiest railway stations in the uk. having been introduced to an audience of millions at the commonwealth games last year, it seems only fitting that he'll now be seen by the millions who pass through here. 0ne unexpected but now very welcome legacy of birmingham 2022. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. july 2023 is shaping up to be a pretty wet month across parts of the country, particularly parts of northern ireland, northern england, we already had more than twice the expected july rainfall and, you've guessed it, a bit more rain on the way for the final a few days of the month. a days of the month. bit of sunshine here and there�* the a bit of sunshine here and there for the rest of the afternoon. pretty

5°99y the rest of the afternoon. pretty soggy for northern ireland, wales, generally western parts of britain. we temperatures out there between 16-24 , still we temperatures out there between 16—24 , still is to buckle it up towards the northern isles. into this evening and tonight, that area of rain tracks eastwards. so a spell of wet and blustery weather, i think for many of us through this evening and tonight. and then once the rain gradually clears towards the east, it's still looking really muggy out there. so temperatures 1a to 16 for many of us, quite a humid feel to the weather. we've still got this area of low pressure really not far away as we head through thursday. so the lingering fronts will bring some rain across scotland, perhaps parts of southern england as well, particularly down towards the channel islands. that's where we'll see the rain through a good part of the day, just slowly lifting northwards across parts of scotland, elsewhere, a lot of low cloud. mist and murk to start your thursday, some drizzly rain, but some sunshine breaking through during the afternoon.

so sunny spells a few scattered showers bubbling up as well. so certainly not dry everywhere. and of course, it's going to be the start of the fifth and final ashes series at the oval. and i think we will have a lot of cloud, could bring the odd shower but not persistent rain. so there will be some play for the first day into friday. again, quite a bit of dry weather at the oval and i think actually a similar picture for much of the uk. not a bad day on friday. so we're looking at sunny spells. could be some showers moving through almost anywhere in that breeze. i think temperatures around about 18 to 2a degrees for most of us. still cooler up towards the northern isles, just 15 for lerwick. at the weekend, that's when the area of low pressure tracks its way eastwards across the northern half of the uk, bringing some showers which will be most frequent i think across parts of scotland, northern ireland, northwest england as well, where it's already been very wet. fewer showers further south, but there will be some at times it'll be quite breezy in the south, too, and temperatures remain a little bit lower than we'd expect as we head towards the start of august.

live from london. this is bbc news. prime minister rishi sunak is set to appear in front of the infected blood inquiry. the chief executive of the british bank natwest resigns after admitting she was the source of an inaccurate bbc story about high—profile

client, nigel farage. frankly, because of how they behave, i think they should all go. wildfires rage in at least nine mediterranean countries amid another day of intense heat. hello. thank you forjoining us. the prime minister rishi sunak will give evidence under oath today at a public inquiry into what's been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the nhs. 30,000 people were infected with viral hepatitis or hiv in the 1970s and 80s after being given contaminated blood products. whilst some victims did get some support, they never received compensation. although last year 4,000 people were given interim payments.