kidnappers to let me go. he's accused greater manchester police of a cover—up. also on the programme: # nothing compares... # the irish singer—songwriter sinead o'connor has died at the age of 56. the hollywood actor kevin spacey breaks down in court as he is found not guilty of sexually assaulting four men. and inside war—torn yemen — the mothers depserately searching for help for their malnourished babies — in a country where international aid is in short supply. on newsnight at 10.30, andrew malkinson incarcerated for rape for 17 years was cleared today after one of the worst miscarriages ofjustice in british legal history. he spoke to us exclusively after he left the court.

good evening. a 57—year—old man who spent 17 years injailfor a rape that he did not commit has today had his conviction formally overturned by the court of appeal. andy malkinson has been fighting since 2003 to clear his name. he was jailed after being identified in a line—up of suspects. but dna of another man was later found on the victim's clothing. outside court today, he accused greater manchester police of scrambling to cover up how he was wrongly convicted for 20 years. our legal correspondent dominic casciani reports. a day ofjustice, a day of truth and freedom. after two decades, andy malkinson and his lawyers walked into the court of appeal with a message for the criminal justice system. a message about how his life has been destroyed over a crime

he always said he never committed. i have been let down. i've been terribly let down. i know i'm not the only one either. i don't trust the state because the state is largely unaccountable and it will not... it doesn't like to admit failures. the failures began here injuly 2003. a woman was raped and left for dead near the m61 motorway in greater manchester. a fortnight later, police visited mr malkinson. they said, "we're arresting you for attempted murder and rape." and then i thought, "oh, my god, they can't think i've done that, surely." you know, "what makes them think i've done that?" he didn't look like the description of the attacker, and no forensic evidence linked him to the crime. today, the court of appeal heard that a supposed eyewitness had convictions for dishonesty, and there was also dna evidence from the victim's clothing

pointing to another man. evidence never disclosed before now. this is an historic case, but also an historic injustice. his original trial resulted in an unsafe conviction because of deplorable disclosure failures, which must lie at the door of the greater manchester police. today, the outcome was inevitable. threejudges quashing his conviction. mr malkinson having waited so many . years, you leave the court a free . man no longer subject to the conditions - of your life—long licence. of your life licence. cheering i am not a liar. i am not in denial. but i will tell you who is. greater manchester police are liars

and they are in denial. no—one has spent longer in prison in the 21st century for a crime they didn't commit than andy malkinson. but his battle forjustice doesn't end here. he still wants answers from greater manchester police. it says it's truly sorry for what happened, but has refused to be interviewed in relation to the case. the criminal cases review commission, which asked the court of appeal to look again, has welcomed the result. but mr malkinson�*s lawyers say it shouldn't have come to this. is there anything that you've learnt about yourself which has actually made you a stronger person? i think it's made me a stronger person, yeah. but in a very difficult way, you know, through a lot of pain and anguish. but what a terrible way to find that out. dominic casciani, bbc news. the acclaimed irish singer—songwriter sinead o'connor has died at the age of 56.

she shot to fame in 1990 with her song nothing compares 2 u. the irish taoiseach — leo varadkar paid tribute to her saying her talent was unmatched and beyond compare. her family said they were "devastated". 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, has been looking back at her life. # since you've been gone i can do whatever i want # i can see whomever i choose.# sinead o'connor, nothing compares 2 u. # i can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant.# quite why a song becomes such a huge global hit is often a bit of a mystery. but one thing is certain the emotion... # because nothing compares...# ..the heartbreak... # nothing compares to you.# ..was nothing fake here. # but i do know man—din—ka...#

herfirst hit mandinka marked her out as a performer with an edge. when a record executive had started talking about her hair she shaved it off. she was wary, angry, she'd had a troubled upbringing and spent part of it in care. butjoining a band revealed her gift. # i have sinned a lot.# but globalfame caught her by surprise. she was more a protest singer than a pop star. # i used to worship god as a mother # now look at what we're doing to each other.# and in an area when the truth about child sexual abuse within the catholic church had yet to be fully exposed, her condemnation of the church, especially when she shredded a picture of the pope on american television caused outrage.

# i'll remember it # and dublin in a rainstorm.# but as the years went by, people began to realise she had been the one telling the truth. # keeping warm i'll remember it.# her life, though, was troubled. there were many struggles with her mental health. and the death last year of her 17—year—old son shane left her utterly bereft. she posted this photograph just a few days ago. # nothing compares, nothing compares to you...# sinead o'connor, those tears were real. # nothing compares, nothing compares to you.# sinead o'connor, who's died aged 56. the actor, kevin spacey — one of the most successful stars of stage and screen

of his generation — has been cleared of all charges of sexual offences against him in the uk. the allegations were made by four men, and covered more than a decade up to 2013 while he was the artistic director at the old vic theatre in london. mr spacey broke down in tears when he heard the verdicts, and later said he was "humbled" by the jury's verdict. our special correspondent, lucy manning, reports. with hugs for the court security staff, a very relieved and emotional kevin spacey walked out of court an innocent man, the result he can celebrate on his 64th birthday. i imagine that many of you can understand that there's a lot for me to process after what has just happened today. but i would like to say that i am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully

before they reached the decision. and i am humbled by the outcome today. we love you, kevin! after 12 hours of deliberation, kevin spacey heard the verdict that he wanted — not guilty repeated nine times. he sobbed in the dock and thanked his legals team and his manager. later, he went to thank the jurors. oscar winner, american beauty star, house of cards lead, and acclaimed stage actor, former old vic creative stage actor, director — but for all the awards and acclaim, this could be kevin spacey�*s most satisfying moment.

for more than three weeks, the actor, returning to england as he said he would to defend himself, listened as allegations were made that he was a sexual bully who had assaulted men. he called the case weak, said the men were after money or lying, or in one case, he'd just mistakenly made a pass. in a moment of real—life drama, the jury agreed with him. it's the weirdest thing. ifeel like i've been in a coma for 20 years. when he gave evidence earlier in the trial, he wept as he described how, after the allegations that had started in america, his world had exploded, causing his work to dry up. but even though he's been cleared of all the criminal charges, there were other questions about his behaviour at the old vic after an investigation commissioned by the theatre in 2017, 20 people alleged mr spacey had behaved inappropriately. but the star leaves court an innocent man. he will hope he can resume a career that reached the highest levels. lucy manning, bbc news. in yemen — the arab world's poorest country —

nearly 500,000 children under the age of five are expected to suffer acute malnutrition this year. after eight years of civil war, 21 million people 7 that's two—thirds of the population 7 need humanitarian assistance and the un is struggling to raise enough money. the war began when iranian—backed houthi rebels seized the capital sanaa in 2014. they still control the area in purple. a saudi—led coalition — backed by the uk and the us? — intervened a year later in 2015 aiming to reinstate the internationally recognised government, which now controls the areas in grey. and there is no sign of peace. 0ur senior international correspondent 0rla guerin has made

it to hodeida in the southwest. there are distressing images of malnourished children in her report imagine if this was where you had to turn for help, if this was your local clinic. every child here is in need. like safaa, wasting away at 13 months. war, hungerand poverty are intertwined here. this is a room full of desperation. mothers have come here to show us how sick, how thin their children are. but this clinic is normally closed. it's been opened todayjust because we are here. and doctors say they'll be able to do nothing for these children except send them home. tell me, doctor, why is the clinic normally closed? dr ali bin ali says, "the staff are on strike because they haven't been paid for the past four months and can't feed their own children." neither can safaa's worried mother, umm ahmed. her baby girl is severely

malnourished and has a liver complaint. translation: some days| she doesn't have any food, when her father is at sea. when he comes back, we buy food for her. i'm very worried about her illness. i'm afraid for her. i want to get help for her, but our situation is hard. the mothers drift away, left to fend for themselves. increasingly, this is the story of yemen. there are deep cuts in aid across the country. and as foreign donors hesitate, safaa and many more fight for life. her mother knows where this road can lead to. she has already buried four of her nine children because of disease and malnutrition. back home, safaa is in the arms

of herfather, anwar talib. he is a third—generation fisherman whose life is overshadowed by war. he tells me he can no longer send his children to school and it's a battle to feed them. translation: i don't work every day. i go to sea for 15—20 days and catch what i can, god willing. sometimes i find fish, sometimes i don't. for the past three months, i had no work. he says he has already married off two of his older daughters because he couldn't provide for them. the girls are 1a and 15. for safaa, there is some hope. we bring her parents to a local clinic that is functioning. her tiny body is racked with pain.

doctors say she needs to go to a specialist hospital in aden, a five—hour drive away. that's a journey her parents can't afford. later, we learn they have taken safaa back home. 0rla guerin, bbc news, hodeidah, yemen. our diplomatic correspondent james landale is here. it is difficult as a journalist to get inside yemen and it is difficult as a 'ournalist to it is difficult as a journalist to get inside yemen and it is difficult as a journalist to et inside yemen and report. 0rla get inside yemen and report. 0rla guerin has done it, but is there any hope for the families we have seen? at the moment, not much. yemen is in limbo at the moment. there is neither all—out war, but neither is there anything approaching a sustainable peace. the un uses a phrase like relative calm because there is still fighting going on. in recent months, there have been

truces and ceasefires and some hope, and that's mainly because the two big regional powers backing both sides and is complete, saudi arabia and iran, back in march, they agreed to normalise relations. that gave some optimism. for the first time, there were direct talks between the saudis and the houthis. there were exchanges of prisoners. but since then, the talks have stalled a bit, with not much progress. and all the while, the humanitarian crisis has got worse. and the key point is that russia's invasion of ukraine has not made this any easier, because it has raised the price of wheat and disrupted the supply of wheat, which yemen desperately needs, but also, it has distracted world attention. we have been looking elsewhere and so as a result, all the aid that was going to ukraine and less has been going to ukraine and less has been going to ukraine and less has been going to yemen. take for example the uk. the uk is still the fourth largest donor. a few years ago, the uk used to be giving £260 million worth of assistance every year. at

the moment, it's about £88 million. so the money is getting less. now, people talk about this is the forgotten war because of that distraction, because the world is looking away. but as we saw in that report, it is anything but forgotten by the ordinary people of yemen. james landale, thank you. the prime minister has vowed to compensate victims "as swiftly as possible" for what he described as the "appalling scandal" that left thousands of people infected with hiv and hepatitis c. the prime minister was heckled as he gave evidence at the latest hearing of the public inquiry into the use of infected blood in the 19705 and 805. our health editor hugh pym reports. some infected in the treatment scandal and others who lost loved ones demonstrated before the hearing. in their number was deborah, whose husband barry was infected with hepatitis c as a result of his haemophilia treatment. he later developed liver cancer. breaks my heart.

i met them a year ago while they attended the inquiry. barry died a couple of months later. today, deborah told me of her sadness and frustration. the government are still making us wait. they're still continuing this anguish. and it's cruel. it's really, really cruel. i shouldn't be sitting here now saying all of this. they should recognise notjust what i've gone through, and i can't imagine what it must be like for people like barry or the others who were infected. their concern is that the inquiry chair has called for a compensation scheme to be set up ahead of the final report later this year. but that hasn't happened. the prime minister said the government was committed to acting swiftly. i believe what has happened has been an appalling scandal. _ but he was pressed by the inquiry council on why after three years, there was no concrete compensation framework. is that good enough?

i think what i'd say is, of course, people want to see... _ jeering from gallery. all i'd say is, in order— for the government to make decisions on compensation, it has rightly has asked an independent inquiry- to conclude its work to provide the advice to government - and recommendations about what to do. - mr sunak said the government would act at the end of the inquiry. the thought of continuing fighting, although i will, i will continue until the day i die, if need be, but the thought of that is hard. and ijust want... i want to believe him. i really do. i want to keep that hope. collette was infected as a teenager during treatment. she says it blighted her family life and she was sceptical about what she heard today. i have watched government after government behave appallingly over this, and regardless of what the prime minister has said today, i do not feel any more reassured

because of the prevarication and the resistance which is very, very clearly still there. the chancellor will give evidence on friday. the inquiry findings are due in the autumn. hugh pym, bbc news. the former ukip leader nigel farage has called for further changes at natwest, following the resignation of the bank's chief executive dame alison rose. she stepped down overnight after admitting she was the source of an inaccurate bbc story about the closure of his accounts at natwest�*s private banking arm, coutts. she'd claimed nigel farage didn't meet the financial criteria for an account — but it subsequently emerged his political views were also a factor. our economics correspondent dharshini david reports. dame alison rose, the natwest boss who stepped down over the row about closing nigel farage's account. she admitted she told the bbc it was a commercial decision, but had incorrectly denied that it

reflected his political views too. she was seen as a highly experienced banker, a safe pair of hands to handle the accounts of millions, until now. the first rule of banking is client confidentiality, and she, over a sociable dinner with simonjack, the bbc business editor, clearly said some things that weren't very wise. since when is a bank a moral arbiter of who they deem to be suitable as a customer or not? on 29thjune, nigel farage tweeted that his accounts had been closed. the next week, the bbc�*s business editor tweeted that a senior source had told him the former ukip leader had fallen short of coutts' financial requirements. mr farage obtained a document revealing that coutts had said "his views do not align with our values". two days later, dame alison apologised for the deeply inappropriate comments. six days later, the bbc apologised to mr farage. the business editor tweeted that his senior source's information

was incomplete and inaccurate. the next afternoon, dame alison admitted to being the source. the natwest board said it noted her error ofjudgment, but said it retained full confidence in her. however, just eight hours later, in the middle of the night, natwest announced that she's stepping down. coutts prides itself on having served the brightest and best, it says, for over 300 years, once dubbed the queen's bank, a stranger to scandal. yet it finds itself embroiled in a crisis — not a financial one, but a reputational one, and one which has provoked a discussion about how banks should view their customers. the city minister summoned senior bankers to discuss where the line should be drawn between risk and freedom of expression. it was right that alison, the chief executive of natwest, resigned. the government has been clear throughout that it is wrong

to remove someone's bank account because of their political views or something that they've said. i certainly don't think anybody should be refused banking services because of their political views, whoever they are. for nigel farage, it's a personal crusade and today, banks were told they would have to give customers more notice when they close accounts. there's relatively few complaints about account closures. 1,400 reached the watchdog last year, and those for many reasons. for the vast majority, it's business as usual. dharshini david, bbc news. joe lewis, whose family trust owns tottenham hotspur football club, has pleaded not guilty to charges of insider trading during a court hearing in the us. he's accused of supplying people with information that allowed them to profit on the stock market.

junior doctors in england have announced a further four day strike as part of their long—running pay dispute. they'll walk out from seven o'clock in the morning on friday 11th august, until seven in the morning on tuesday 15th. their union, the british medical association, has renewed its call for new talks with ministers. the greek government says there have been more than 600 wildfires in the country in less than a fortnight — with temperatures still well over a0 degress celsius in many areas. the fires are still raging in some places on the islands of corfu, evia and rhodes, from where jenny hill reports. up close you can feel its power... horns blare ..and you can sense their panic. this was southeastern rhodes today, still burning out of control. things change here almost by the second. we were just driving

down this road when these flames reared up almost out of nowhere. you can hear the crackle as they consume this pine forest. and actually, they're just trying to cut down the trees to create a firebreak. it feels desperate. a scramble to save the nearby village. a state of emergency has been declared. across the mediterranean, wildfires are raging. this was portugal overnight. firefighters and locals doing all they could to battle the flames. translation: this is not right. we've been here for hours. - the firemen waited for the flames to come. the interior minister should be here now. it's now a familiar sight — people fleeing their homes, others helped to safety. in algeria, the danger has passed, but the mourning has begun. at least 3a people

died in these fires. in sicily, a horrifying journey for one driver. croatia, too, where the wildfires burned near dubrovnik. here on rhodes, they hope cooler temperatures will bring some relief, but the fires rage on. jenny hill, bbc news, vati in rhodes. the world's longest running comic, the beano, is 85 and has marked the occasion with a commemorative issue. there are guest appearance from the likes of harry styles, adele and stormzy. it includes depictions of king charles iii and queen camilla. they were all chosen by 3,000 children, who were asked which celebrities they'd most like to see in cartoon form. alexandra mackenzie has the story, and a warning — her report contains

some flashing images. dennis the menace and minnie the minx are celebrating the beano's 85th birthday with a few famous friends from the world of tv, sport and royalty. friends from the world of tv, sport and royalty-— and royalty. one of those involved in this special _ and royalty. one of those involved in this special edition _ and royalty. one of those involved in this special edition explains - and royalty. one of those involved in this special edition explains the | in this special edition explains the secret of the comic�*s success. and by the 19505, when dennis, minnie, roger and the ba5h street kid5 by the 19505, when dennis, minnie, roger and the ba5h street kids all joined, eversince roger and the ba5h street kids all joined, ever since then, roger and the ba5h street kids all joined, eversince then, beano roger and the ba5h street kids all joined, ever since then, beano has been all about kids. kid5 joined, ever since then, beano has been all about kids. kids have been the heroes, and that is what has allowed us to continually update it every single issue so that the characters reflect kid5 every single issue so that the characters reflect kids in real life, just a little bit larger than life. in life, 'ust a little bit larger than life. :: , , ~ life. in 2013, dennis the menace lived u- life. in 2013, dennis the menace lived up to _ life. in 2013, dennis the menace lived up to his _ life. in 2013, dennis the menace lived up to his name _ life. in 2013, dennis the menace lived up to his name when - life. in 2013, dennis the menace lived up to his name when he i life. in 2013, dennis the menace - lived up to his name when he pranked the then prince charles. who seemed to see the funny side. since the

beano 5tarted to see the funny side. since the beano started here in dundee 85 years ago, more than 4000 issues have been printed. and it's hoped that the comic will go on to entertain new generation. these three brothers are avid fans. mi; three brothers are avid fans. my favourite three brothers are avid fans. ij�*i favourite character three brothers are avid fans. m: favourite character is three brothers are avid fans. m; favourite character is minnie the minx because she's a really good role model. minx because she's a really good role model-— minx because she's a really good role model.- he - minx because she's a really good role model.- he is - minx because she's a really good role model.- he is funny. j role model. dennis. he is funny. roaer role model. dennis. he is funny. roger the _ role model. dennis. he is funny. roger the dodger, _ role model. dennis. he is funny. roger the dodger, because - role model. dennis. he is funny. roger the dodger, because he i role model. dennis. he is funny. i roger the dodger, because he gives me ideas_ roger the dodger, because he gives me ideas to — roger the dodger, because he gives me ideas to get _ roger the dodger, because he gives me ideas to get out _ roger the dodger, because he gives me ideas to get out of _ roger the dodger, because he gives me ideas to get out of trouble. - me ideas to get out of trouble. those — me ideas to get out of trouble. those who— me ideas to get out of trouble. those who produce _ me ideas to get out of trouble. those who produce the - me ideas to get out of trouble. those who produce the beanol me ideas to get out of trouble. i those who produce the beano and those who read it, eagerly await many more mi5chievou5 adventures with dennis, minnie and friends. alexander mackenzie, bbc news, dundee. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. i have been searching for a lovely 5un5et picture to show you, which was really quite a struggle this evening. i had to go all the way up

into northern parts of scotland to see the sun going down because elsewhere in the uk, it's been cloudy and wet this evening. this cloudy and wet this evening. this cloud has been racing in from the atlantic, bringing with it some mi5ty and murky whether as well as the rain. this is the radar picture from the last few hours. it is steady rain pushing eastwards, nothing particularly heavy. the worst of the rain is going to move away eventually out into the north sea, but leaving behind a lot of cloud. a lot of low cloud, some missed and low fog over the hills and some pockets of rain or drizzle here and there, meaning it will be warmer than last night, when temperatures were down to 2 degrees in northern scotland. but it will be a dull and in northern scotland. but it will be a dulland damp in northern scotland. but it will be a dull and damp start. the rain across northern most parts of scotland could linger into the afternoon. so too along the english channel. but elsewhere, the winds will become lighter and it may eventually brighten up a bit, which could trigger some sharp showers in

the north—east of england. they should be a warmer than today for northern ireland and wales, with the highest temperatures in eastern areas. looking ahead to friday, it's basically a day of sunshine, but also a few showers. not too many showers, a lot of places will be dry. we are more likely to have showers in northern ireland, perhaps western scotland. but heading into the weekend, new weekend, new area of low pressure bringing more wind and rain across the uk. that low will put eastwards across northern areas. this is where we will find the wettest weather, and it could be windy for a while in northern ireland, over the irish sea into west england and north wales. and it's not going to be particularly warm at all this weekend. but outside of the rain, we should see sunshine from time to time. from time to time! _ thanks, darren. and that's bbc news at ten — there's more analysis of the day's main stories on newsnight with kirsty wark, which isjust getting under way on bbc two.

the news continues here on bbc one, as now it's time