being given to businesses during the pandemic. the public accounts committee says that three years on, less than 2% of the money has been recouped. the government said it was working with councils to recover the erroneous payments. live now to our economics correspondent andy verity. do we know the scale of the fraud? we do, the amount lost due to fraud and errors 1.1 billion, we need to cast our minds back of course to the situation back the march 20020 when the on set of the pandemic meant that governments had to put economies in lockdown and businesses weren't getting the income they needed to pay wage, there was a threat that millions of businesses might go underand threat that millions of businesses might go under and of the huge support that the government gave at

that time, there was notjust the furlough scheme but also grants administered by local authorities, now because there was a fear that so many businesses fell over, speed was prioritised over the normal anti—fraud controls, you can't be bothered with the normal underwriting if you need to get the money out by the day, by the week, and so there were 20 people looking after this at the department for business enterprise and innovation and skills at the time, just 20 people, throwing money out there, so for example, there were 6 billion distributed injust for example, there were 6 billion distributed in just the first few weeks via local authorities, but there are problems which we now know about like for example it will local authorities databases of businesses, were out—of—date so sometimes that money went to businesses that didn't exist or to accounts that businesses no longer had, or, to businesses that were receiving the money on a fraudulent basis and what the mps are bothered about here is the fact that here with are, three—and—a—half years after the schemes began, and

the amount lost to fraud and error isjust over 20 million, so barely 2 percent of what has been lost. 50 a hue percent of what has been lost. 50 a huge amount _ percent of what has been lost. 50 a huge amount of— percent of what has been lost. 50 a huge amount of monetary percent of what has been lost. so a huge amount of monetary policy really in the grand scheme of thingers why is it taking so long for mps to get this money back? well, mine they are saying that the government doesn't appear to be that concerned is about this money, i mean you can say a billion pounds is huge, remember n the pandemic year 20-21 the huge, remember n the pandemic year 20—21 the government borrowed from itself 300 billion to support the economy, to pay private sector wage, to keep the transport system going with no passenger, so1 billion lost to fraud and error might be seen as a price worth paying by some, on the other hand you would have taught there would still be steps 2115 could be taken to recover the money if the government is tight for cash as it sometimes tries to maintain it is, put1 billion in the contesting of

the budget, the spending is about 1.1 trillion, so 1,000100 billion, so it is about 0.1% of spending, by our standard a billion pounds sounds a lot of moon. it our standard a billion pounds sounds a lot of moon-— a lot of moon. it does to us. focussing — a lot of moon. it does to us. focussing on _ a lot of moon. it does to us. focussing on the _ a lot of moon. it does to us. focussing on the fraud, - a lot of moon. it does to us. | focussing on the fraud, were a lot of moon. it does to us. - focussing on the fraud, were there are any particular grants you yes have seen that experience more fraud than others?— than others? well, i mean the sectors this — than others? well, i mean the sectors this was _ than others? well, i mean the sectors this was focussed - than others? well, i mean the sectors this was focussed on, | than others? well, i mean the i sectors this was focussed on, the sectors this was focussed on, the sectors that local authorities were instructed to support were the hospitality sector, pubs weren't open so they had no income, similar will i with shops and restaurants and hotel, all of those sectors had no income but occasionally the money was going out even when those pubs were no longer in business and you had camels of money being handed out to businesses that didn't exist or that had been contrived to receive the money. we know that in furlough, in bounce back loan there's has been

billions of fraud, part of this is just an accepted price, even back in the pandemic people were aware that fraud might take place, but, if you want to keep the safeguards against fraud, then that means you can't get the money out quickly enough to stop the money out quickly enough to stop the businesses collapsing so the fraud was seen as the lesser of two evils. ., , , fraud was seen as the lesser of two evils. . , , ., ~ , ., evils. really interesting. thank you for cominu evils. really interesting. thank you for coming on- _ evils. really interesting. thank you for coming on. andy _ andy verity there. rishi sunak is being urged to raise the case of a british man facing the death penalty in india when he attends the g20 summit in delhi tomorrow. more than 70 mps have signed a letter, calling on the british prime minister to press india's prime minister, to release jagtar singh johal — who has been held for almost six years. downing street said it wouldn't pre—empt what the two leaders might discuss. earlier we heard from the brother ofjagtar, gurpreet sinthohal, who is a lawyer and labour

councillor in dumbarton. he has been in detention for the last 2131 days, neglect by the british government during that process, it is disappointing when you said at the start they don't want to pre—empt, at the start of this, the previous prime ministers have raised jagtar�*s case and it would be astonishing if rishi sunak didn't call forjagtar�*s release or laze his case, given he has a good relationship with them, there is a lot of expectations that align on rishi sunak to bring jagtar back home and call for his release, rishi sunak is the prime minister of this country, and he should be protecting his british citizen, yesterday there was a debate within westminster, and various mps have said, if you are a british citizen, with a british

passport, that the uk government should be doing everything to say, it is upon the british prime minister, to do so. he has been neglected for the last nearly six year, in respect of where the working group of arbitrary detention have said, there is no legal basis forjagtar�*s detention and he should be released immediately. rishi sunak and the uk government have continuously said we have a good relationship with the indians but to date they have failed to call for jagtar�*s release, expectation is that rishi sunak would call for jagtar�*s release and show that britain will stand up for human rights and not put trade before human rights. we rights and not put trade before human rights.— rights and not put trade before human riahts. ~ . , human rights. we saw a letter sent in jul , b human rights. we saw a letter sent in july. by the _ human rights. we saw a letter sent in july, by the foreign _ human rights. we saw a letter sent in july, by the foreign secretary . injuly, by the foreign secretary james cleverly then and he decided, he said in that letter he decided he did not want to press india, over theissue, did not want to press india, over the issue, however you do have a lot

of support, 70 mps signing a letter in support of your brother, how hopeful are you, looking ahead to that meeting tomorrow? there is a clear message today, which is to rishi sunak, you are playing with my brother's life, if you are serious about protecting british citizens is and the british public, you need to stand up, and show that you will be standing upfor stand up, and show that you will be standing up for human rights and not putting trade above it, so, i am hopeful in respect of the boris johnson, sorry, can race jagtar�*s case, there is no doubt that rishi sunak should be doing it as well, so the question is, everybody is calling for this that you need to stand up, rightfully so, britain called for nazanin's release, previously, and that was to a country of iran which we don't have good relations with but we do with

india, show so it shouldn't be difficult to have a candid conversation and call forjagtar�*s release, that he should be immediately released. i release, that he should be immediately released. release, that he should be immediatel released. ., ., ., immediately released. i want to ask, what has it been _ immediately released. i want to ask, what has it been like _ immediately released. i want to ask, what has it been like for— immediately released. i want to ask, what has it been like for you - immediately released. i want to ask, what has it been like for you and - what has it been like for you and your family, what has it been like for you and yourfamily, being in this limbo, we are talking about across six year, what has the impact been like for you? what has the impact been like for ou? , ._ what has the impact been like for ou? , , ., you? every day we are fighting, it is bad enough _ you? every day we are fighting, it is bad enough to _ you? every day we are fighting, it is bad enough to secure _ you? every day we are fighting, it is bad enough to secure his - you? every day we are fighting, it i is bad enough to secure his release from the independent and gone government the uk government have let us down, it's the, the minister, it is the foreign secretary, the prime minister that has a role to bring jagtar back home, the consular services go and meet him and there is some relief in seeing, finding out how he is because the indians have restricted contact with him, so the civil servants are doing the best they can do to do what they can, but the power lives within, and you mention, the foreign secretary's

letter, james cleverly had a meeting with myself and martin doherty, who is, to be honest i felt as if i was back, pushed back five years, and then when we got the reply, and he said he wasn't going to be calling forjagtar�*s release, he told me that he would do what is in the best interests of my brother, and surely it is in the best interest of my brother to be back home because these are allegations that have been made against him which have turned into charges and i have said this repeatedly false allegation have become false charges which can result in a false conviction resulting in the death penalty of my brother, which as a result of the neglect of the uk government not standing upfor neglect of the uk government not standing up for the rights of british nationals it will be blood on their hands as well, and that is the biggest fear we are got. {eek we the biggest fear we are got. ok we hope we will bring him back home, together with the support and

raising the awareness, putting the pressure on the uk government and the indian government to send him back but we have to keep doing that, we don't have any other gb nick, give us a bit of background to this case, some people might not know about it it to this case, some people might not know about i— know about it it has been going on for six years. _ know about it it has been going on for six years, jagtar _ know about it it has been going on for six years, jagtar singh - know about it it has been going on for six years, jagtar singh johal . for six years, jagtar singh johal has been for six years, jagtar sinthohal has been in detention in india, you heard some of those accusations of torture, he remains on trial, in theory at least for humberside airport and other crimes said to be linked to political violence but i think the bigger shoe the government has faced over all this of time is significant pressure from his family and from his local mp from dumbarton in scotland but from an increasing number of conservative mps and cross

bench mps who are frankly really worried about the way this case is going ahead. the fact there hasn't been any significant process in the criminal trial and saying look it for the government to intervene, there has been pressure on the uk government to do this for years really, and the foreign secretary james cleverly has been asked about it on a number of occasion what is interesting is number ten is reluctant to get into discussing whether the pm is going to bring this up, with his indian counterpart at the g20 summit, there is clearly at the g20 summit, there is clearly a close relationship between rishi sunak and his indian counterpart, there is a lot of talk about trade at the moment, swirling rumours round steam a trade deal could be imminent and round steam a trade deal could be imminentand the round steam a trade deal could be imminent and the relationship between the two is therefore really, really important, but i think the fact this has come up today, the fact this has come up today, the fact that the pressure is pretty intense, actually on rishi sunak to bring this case up, means he is

inever tabibly, bring this case up, means he is inevertabibly, rishi bring this case up, means he is inever tabibly, rishi sunak that is, going to be asked about this, and at some point he will have the to make it clear where he stands and whether he will go as far as to raise this at the top the indian government. while you are here, nick, let us talk about another issue which will come up at prime minister's questions which we will have live here and it is the crumbling concrete in schools and the pressure really is mounting on the government, this big expensive problem. it government, this big expensive roblem. , ., ., problem. it is mounting on the government — problem. it is mounting on the government because - problem. it is mounting on the government because there - problem. it is mounting on the government because there is l problem. it is mounting on the i government because there is not problem. it is mounting on the - government because there is notjust that question of how you fix it, that question of how you fix it, that question of why it was allowed to happen in the first place, if you cast your mind back all the way to the austerity years under the coalition government, the conservative led coalition government, there are questions about whether the cancellation of some funding was a big problem, there are questions over wlp rishi sunak, when he was chancellor, went far enough in giving funding to schools, that needed urgent up

grades to their facilities, and i think what you will hear at prime minister's questions at noon today, is those questions being asked of the pm, is part of the fault for the fact this is enveloped into such a crisis, down to you? that you didn't take enough action when it was flagged up to you in 2020, that you should have gone a lot further, a lot quicker, the response we are getting from government from people behind the scenes in number ten is look, it is not fair to blame this on rishi sunak, that there has been veriable funding for facilities in schools and that there is a lot more to come. but it is always franny, this big conundrum the government's faced. there is of course limited funding, there is a blank cheque to be signed, there is a lot of pressure on different government departments but i think this is a really, really tricky one for rishi sunak, this concrete crisis will go on and on and on. we will hear about

more buildings that could be potentially be impacted, there are more checks happening as we speak, all the way up to westminster, if you needed symbolism some is there. rishi sunak is now facing that charge, that he didn't do enough at chancellor, to prevent this happening, we will get more of his answer at noon.— happening, we will get more of his answer at noon. actually. that is on prime minister's _ answer at noon. actually. that is on prime minister's questions - answer at noon. actually. that is on prime minister's questions here - answer at noon. actually. that is on prime minister's questions here on| prime minister's questions here on bbc the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has arrived in kyiv on an unannounced visit. this is his convoy, driving into the us embassy a few hours ago. a senior american official has said they expect him to announce more than a billion dollars in new us funding for ukraine during the visit. he's held an opening news conference

with ukraine's foreign minister dmytro kuleba — here's what they had too say. it a great pleasure to welcome — too say. it a great pleasure to welcome a — too say. it a great pleasure to welcome a colleague, - too say. it a great pleasure to welcome a colleague, a - too say. it a great pleasure to| welcome a colleague, a friend, antony blinken, state secretary of the united states here in ukraine. as secretary was walking in, he said, that he appreciates being at my home and i responded, with all my sincerity that my home is your home, think this testifies to the quality of the relationship between our country, welcome, iam of the relationship between our country, welcome, i am looking forward to productive result oriented conversation with you. thank you my friend. it is always good _ thank you my friend. it is always good and — thank you my friend. it is always good and in _ thank you my friend. it is always good and in fact inspiring to be in ukraine, — good and in fact inspiring to be in ukraine, back in ukraine, this is now— ukraine, back in ukraine, this is now fourth— ukraine, back in ukraine, this is now fourth time i have been in ukraine — now fourth time i have been in ukraine since the russian aggression, in february, 2022. every time i_ aggression, in february, 2022. every time i am _ aggression, in february, 2022. every time i am here i am struck by the extraordinary bravery and resilience of the _ extraordinary bravery and resilience of the ukrainian people, the ukrainian force, ukraine's

leadership. and i am here first and foremost— leadership. and i am here first and foremost to — leadership. and i am here first and foremost to demonstrate our ongoing and determined support for ukraine. as it deals _ and determined support for ukraine. as it deals with this aggression. we have seen_ as it deals with this aggression. we have seen good progress in the counter— have seen good progress in the counter offensive, we want to make sure that _ counter offensive, we want to make sure that ukraine has what it needs not only— sure that ukraine has what it needs not only to — sure that ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counter offensive — not only to succeed in the counter offensive by has what it needs for the long—term, to make sure it has a strong _ the long—term, to make sure it has a strong deterrent, strong defence capacity. — strong deterrent, strong defence capacity, so that in the future aggressions like this don't happen again— aggressions like this don't happen again and — aggressions like this don't happen again and we are determines to continue — again and we are determines to continue to work with our partners as they— continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, — as they build and rebuild a strong economy, a strong democracy, all of which _ economy, a strong democracy, all of which is _ economy, a strong democracy, all of which is necessary to ensure that ukraine _ which is necessary to ensure that ukraine not only survives but it thrives, — ukraine not only survives but it thrives, in— ukraine not only survives but it thrives, in the future, and, in that, — thrives, in the future, and, in that, ukraine has a strong partner in the _ that, ukraine has a strong partner in the united states, and for many me it _ in the united states, and for many me it is _ in the united states, and for many me it is a — in the united states, and for many me it is a special pleasure to be not only— me it is a special pleasure to be not only with my colleague but my friend _

not only with my colleague but my friend we — not only with my colleague but my friend. we have been working together— friend. we have been working together round the world, and round—the—clock so good to be here my friend _ round—the—clock so good to be here my friend. thank you. birmingham city council — the largest local authority in europe — has declared itself effectively bankrupt. it says all new council spending in the city must stop, except for services that it has to provide by law. so services like schools, social care, waste collection and protecting the vulnerable, for example. the labour run council is still struggling to pay off a huge equal pay claim that dates back to more than a decade. jo black has more. in legal speak, the council has issued a section 114 notice. in common parlance, it means it's broke. money is tight for many of our councils, but this is europe's biggest local authority, and the fact that it's struggling to balance its books has left many in this city wondering what it means for them. oh, my god.

i've never heard of such a thing in my life. how can the council be bankrupt?! i mean, after the commonwealth games last year, this city was thriving. it's a dynamic, vibrant city. but this should never have happened. this should never have happened. it should never have got to this point. it's really, really sad. councils feeling the pinch is nothing new — especially with challenges relating to the rising costs and demands of essential services, such as social care. thurrock, croydon, slough and northamptonshire councils have all issued section 114 notices in recent years, and others could follow suit. but birmingham's story has particular features. ten years ago, a landmark case was brought against the city council over equal pay, where 174 employees — mostly female — argued they'd missed out on bonuses. this historic pay issue has already cost the council £1 billion, and could go on to cost around £760 million more. add to that problems with a new it

system, which could require £100 million to fix. this is devastating news for birmingham taxpayers here, where the labour administration have had to declare that they are effectively bankrupt because of their failure to deliver proper accounts for the last three years, and a failure to get to grips with their equal—pay mess that they've had over the last six years here in birmingham. this financial struggle doesn't mean all services stop. by law, the council must provide social care, waste collections, and protect the vulnerable. but there is a ban on new expenditure, and non—essential services could be vulnerable. my priority now is ensuring that we have a financial recovery plan in place that can meet the great demands that are placed upon the council, and continue to provide the services that the city relies on. the council must now meet within 21 days to work out how it plans to deal with this financial crisis — with some tough budgetary decisions to come. jo black, bbc news.

an investigation into a helicopter crash at leicester city's stadium has found there was nothing the pilot could have done to stop it from happening. five people including the club's owner died in the accident, which happened in 2018. the aviation accidents investigation bureau said a mechanical failure was to blame. phil mackie reports. this was the aftermath of the accident in october 2018 — the beginning of an investigation into what cost five people their lives. the agustawestland aw169 was leaving the king power stadium when the rear rotor blade failed and it span out of control, killing everyone on board — leicester's billionaire chairman, vichai srivaddhanaprabha, employees nusara suknamai and kaveporn punpare, as well as experienced pilot and instructor eric swaffer and his partner — also seen here — izabela lechowicz. all safety procedures had been carried out, but just as it left the stadium, some bearings jammed,

the rear rotor blade failed, and the helicopter span out of control, crashed and burst into flames. mr swaffer couldn't have done anything else. it was a very serious failure, and what happened was the tail rotor actually drove the tail rotor blades to their full negative pitch, and that spun the aircraft around very rapidly — it was spinning once every two seconds — and that made the helicopter impossible to control, so there's little more he could have done. as a result of the investigations, a number of safety recommendations have been made. this is where the helicopter crashed and players and staff did their best to pull people out of the wreckage. a year later, it was opened as this beautiful memorial garden, so there's a permanent reminder for the club and its supporters of what happened. phil mackie, bbc news, leicester. it's going to be another hot one today, with most of england under an amber alert for warm weather — and wales, scotland and northern ireland all feeling unseasonably high temperatures.

john maguire reports from the seaside town of weston—super—mare. after a brief spell of hot weather back injune, it is finally here once again. just as many children are returning to school. heat health warnings have been issued across england. but for most people it is about ice creams, seaside strolls and sunshine. i am melting but we are having a nice time, aren't we? it's really nice, it kind of — it could have been a few weeks ago, but yeah, it's nice. considering july and august was a wash—out, it's just i what we need at the end of the summer. - businesses are also feeling the benefits after a wash—out summer. it's been very sunny so we have obviously been very busy. a lot of customers. good for the business. it makes me feel great personally. i think it makes everybody else feel good. you can't complain

when the sun is shining. they are not the only ones making the most of the weather. so, just give them an ice cube lolly enrichment. so, there's food, various fruits inside of that they'll lick. as it melts the fruits will emerge. and yeah, it cools them down. of course, the heat means pets can be vulnerable. if we're hot, they're also hot. it's best to get them _ into an environment that we feel comfortable in as well. although forecasters say this warm weather will likely go by the middle of next week, it has been a welcome relief for those holding out forjust a few more moments of summer. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. hello. in the last century, there've been only four occasions where the highest temperature for the year has occurred in september. either today or tomorrow, we could make that a fifth time. 32.2 celsius is the highest

temperature so far this year. that was recorded injune in chertsey and also in coningsby today. however, we could get up to around 32 celsius, if not a little bit more. same again tomorrow. that's because we've got high pressure sitting across central northern europe. that's storm daniel producing the flooding in greece. this area of low pressure out towards the west is what's helping to draw the humid air away with a general southerly winds, bit breezy at times in parts of scotland. low cloud or linger through shetland, eastern counties of scotland, parts of eastern england. and there could be a bit of sea fog to the irish sea around, say, the isle of man, dumfries and galloway, eastern northern ireland, that limit the temperature rise a little bit in these areas. for most though, 26 in scotland, northern ireland, 28, 29 in wales, maybe up to 30 to 32 in the south east corner. and what will follow will be a very humid night. low cloud dominance around some of these eastern coasts again. but in the west, around the south west of england, wales, eventually the isle of man, small chance of one or two heavy and thundery showers. most of them will be dry

and temperatures not much lower than around 15 to 19 degrees for most of you as we start pretty sticky thursday. low cloud again, no close to these eastern coastal counties of england and eventually scotland later in the day. more cloud, though, with chance for some showers around the irish sea drifting through northern ireland and later into scotland. and it will linger around the coasts of the north sea and around parts of the irish sea. isolated shower possible across scotland, northern ireland for more. so staying dry and staying hot. so how long will this spell last? well, for england, wales into the weekend. but we start to see changes in scotland, northern ireland as low pressure edges its way in and a more widespread breakdown as we go through into the middle part of next week.

but certainly through this weekend, it's still pretty warm out there even though the showers start to develop more widely in scotland, northern ireland, hot and humid in england and wales. and then those showers more widespread next week.

live from london. this is bbc news. 13 schools have their buildings scrapped in 2010. the father and step mother of sara sharif speak publicly for the first time since the death of the 10—year—old last month. the rolling stones are set to release a new album, their first since 2005.

teaching unions have accused ministers of calculated neglect. labour will attempt to force the government to release documents on what the prime minister about the concrete in schools when he was deciding on funding repairs as chancellor. how will this unfold in the house of commons? brute chancellor. how will this unfold in the house of commons? we know what the house of commons? we know what the bi toic the house of commons? we know what the big topic is — the house of commons? we know what the big topic is likely _ the house of commons? we know what the big topic is likely to _ the house of commons? we know what the big topic is likely to be _ the house of commons? we know what the big topic is likely to be at _ the big topic is likely to be at prime minister's questions. it is the first pmqs that we are getting after the return to school for westminster and it has been a bumpy return for rishi sunak since he and his government have faced questions about their actions regarding this issue of concrete in schools at has led to the partial closure of school buildings. what labour are going to

try and do is to try and skewer rishi sunak and