short on targets around leaks and reducing pollution. 2a,000 letters from hospital doctors to their patients were lost in a new computer system. we ask how. suella braverman is giving a speech about refugees in america, but it's already sparking controversy here in westminster. and idris elba talks to us about filming — not for movies, but gaming. it's like being a puppet master, you know, but without the strings, you know what i mean? you are using this whole vessel to sort of create something that you can't actually see. coming up on bbc news, we're just three days away from the ryder cup teeing off in rome, as europe's players make

themselves at home on the course with the traditional photocall. hello and welcome to the bbc news at one. water companies in england and wales have been ordered to repay customers a total of £114 million, after failing to meet key targets. the industry's regulator, ofwat, said that firms aren't performing well enough on issues including leaks and reducing pollution. the money will be returned by reducing household bills. our environment correspondent jonah fisher has the details. this is the water companies�* end of year report, written by regulator ofwat. it assesses their performance against a number of indicators such as plugging leaks, the quality of

the water supply and whether they have managed to reduce the number of pollution incidents. for most of the 17 companies, it�*s not pleasant reading. there is no top of the class this year, with none getting the highest score. ten were rated as average, and seven told they are lagging behind. poor performance comes with financial consequences. tens, the uk�*s biggest water company, is firmly bottom of the class —— thames. they reported an increase in serious pollution incidents and will have to hand back about £100 million next year. if shared out equally among its customers, it is pocket money, a bit more than a fiver, and will be swallowed up by other inflation linked rises. water and sewage here in wales is a bit different to

england. it is run by a not—for—profit company, but its performance still isn�*t good. it has failed to hit its targets. in leaks and has been rated as lagging by 0fwat and told to pay back £24 million to its customers. several water companies have beenjudged to be doing so well that they can charge customers more next year. severn trent will get an extra 88 million, much to the disbelief of this wild swimmer in shrewsbury. i�*m this wild swimmer in shrewsbury. i'm re this wild swimmer in shrewsbury. i“n pretty surprised that they are being rewarded, yes, because there is still sewage spilling into the rivers. we are trying to swim in the rivers. we are trying to swim in the rivers and clean them up. 0bviously, rivers and clean them up. obviously, it is notjust the sewage and not just the water companies that cause pollution problems, but has he any water company being rewarded while there are still sewage spilling into there are still sewage spilling into the river doesn�*t seem right to me. responding to 0fwat, the water

companies�* trade body water uk look for the positives. companies' trade body water uk look for the positives.— for the positives. there has been im ortant for the positives. there has been important progress _ for the positives. there has been important progress in _ for the positives. there has been important progress in some - for the positives. there has been i important progress in some areas. for leakage, that is down 7% since 2020, coming down every year since the start of the decade. meat 2020, coming down every year since the start of the decade.— the start of the decade. next week, the start of the decade. next week, the water company _ the start of the decade. next week, the water company will _ the start of the decade. next week, the water company will be - the start of the decade. next week, | the water company will be producing its plans for massive investment in infrastructure. if that is approved, bills will rise still further. jonah fisher, bbc news, in cardiff. an nhs trust has apologised after it failed to send out 24,000 letters to patients and their gps because of a computer error. newcastle hospitals said the problem — which dates back to 2018 — is significant, and the health care regulator has asked for assurance that no—one�*s treatment has been delayed as a result of the mistake. sharon barbour has the story. the unsent letters date back to 2018, when a new computer system was introduced. many are discharge summaries, which explain what the care was that the patient received

in hospital and what medications the patients need to now take. but there are also a significant number of unsent letters from specialist clinics, which may spell out that urgent treatment is needed. all these letters are vital for a patient�*s continuing care. it is patient's continuing care. it is important _ patient's continuing care. it is important because _ patient's continuing care. it 3 important because one, we patient's continuing care. it 1 important because one, we will have the results of the investigations, which are significant. and also, frequently there are tests which have been undertaken, blood tests and scans and so forth. so it�*s important that we know the result of that. and once the patient has been to the outpatients, medication, tablets, what is going to be prescribed in future for the patient? 50 prescribed in future for the atient? 1, prescribed in future for the atient? ., ., , prescribed in future for the atient? ., , ., , , patient? so how has this happened? it a- ears patient? so how has this happened? it appears that _ patient? so how has this happened? it appears that when _ patient? so how has this happened? it appears that when it _ patient? so how has this happened? it appears that when it comes - patient? so how has this happened? it appears that when it comes to - it appears that when it comes to discharge summaries, at least, one person would draft it and prepare it for a second person to sign the top. that second person had to make sure that on their computer, they change

their status to signing clinician. if they didn�*t, the discharge summary wouldn�*t leave the hospital as the consultant expected it to. instead, it went into a separate folder that one consultant told me they didn�*t know existed. it was hidden. an action plan now sent to the cqc says the trust will immediately deal with the 6000 letter backlog from the last year alone. more than 1200 of those relate to medicine and emergency care. consultants have also been asked to record incidents of patient harm as a result of the backlog. in a statement, newcastle hospital trust said a review is under way. if any concerns are identified, we will inform patients and their gps directly. we are taking this issue seriously and we are working quickly to put things right. the cqc says after receiving concerns from staff, they took immediate action to

understand the extent to which people may be at risk, and evidence of the steps being taken to review the impact on patients. so what happens now? newcastle hospitals, who have hospitals here, will be urgently going through those 6000 letters from the last year alone will step they have to get through all 24,000. gps across the region are bracing themselves for a real influx of care plans that they must put in place urgently as well to sort out their patients. the two key questions this lunchtime — have any patients come to harm and secondly, have the problems here in newcastle been repeated at other trusts across the country? sharon barbour there. the home secretary is to question whether being gay, or a woman, is a sufficient reason to claim asylum.

suella braverman is due to make a speech later today to a think tank in the us. it�*s believed she�*ll ask whether the un�*s 1951 refugee convention is fit for the modern age — arguing that there�*s been a vast increase in the number of people defined as refugees. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in westminster. henry, what more can we expect her to say? ina in a couple of hours, suella braverman is going to be giving that speech in washington, dc. but it really goes to the heart of a debate thatis really goes to the heart of a debate that is happening here in westminster as well as around the world, which is that question of who should or should not be counted as a refugee. the international rules governing that were set in 1951. that is called the un refugee convention. and while suella braverman will say that that was an excellent achievement by the world, six years as it was after the second world war in 1951, she will say the world has simply changed too much and there should be new rules. she

will specifically question how the un refugee convention gets applied. she will say it simply was not intended to cover cases where people who are gay or who are women might fear discrimination where they are, but not necessarily be experiencing persecution. before the speech has been made, she is already coming under intense criticism, some of it from charities like the refugee council, who say the most important thing is not the definition of who is a refugee, it is establishing safe and legal routes for people seeking asylum to come to the uk. there is also criticism from the labour party, who say that suella braverman is grandstanding abroad because she has failed to fix what they call the asylum chaos here in they call the asylum chaos here in the uk. , , a, sick leave has soared to its highest level in the uk in more than ten years. new research suggests the average employee took nearly eight days off ill in the last year — compared to nearly six days before the pandemic. covid—19 and minor illnesses

were among the most common reasons for taking time off. 0ur employment correspondent zoe conway has all the details. new research suggests uk workers are taking more sick days than at any point in the last decade. the survey spoke to 6.5 million employees across more than 900 organisations, and found that staff took on average 7.8 sick days in the past year. that is up from an average of 5.8 days the year before the pandemic. the study found that minor illnesses such as having flu or a migraine were the main reason for short—term absences, followed by musculoskeletal injuries and mental ill health. this is the highest level of sickness _ this is the highest level of sickness illness absence in 15 years. — sickness illness absence in 15 years, and it is a significantjump in sickness — years, and it is a significantjump in sickness absence. if we look at

the context — in sickness absence. if we look at the context of the last few years, there _ the context of the last few years, there has— the context of the last few years, there has been a pandemic. we have had a _ there has been a pandemic. we have had a cost _ there has been a pandemic. we have had a cost of— there has been a pandemic. we have had a cost of living crisis, so there — had a cost of living crisis, so there has— had a cost of living crisis, so there has been an awful lot of pressure _ there has been an awful lot of pressure is on people in terms of their— pressure is on people in terms of their mental well—being, and an awful_ their mental well—being, and an awful lot — their mental well—being, and an awful lot of change and pressure in organisations as well. so we are not surprised _ organisations as well. so we are not surprised to — organisations as well. so we are not surprised to see that mental ill health— surprised to see that mental ill health and stress are two of the biggest — health and stress are two of the biggest causes of long—term absence. but it�*s notjust short—term leave that is affecting the labour market — a record 2.6 million people of working age are not in work due to long term sickness, according to recent office for national statistics data. things like obesity, alcohol use, gambling — things like obesity, alcohol use, gambling if we are thinking about mentat— gambling if we are thinking about mental health, and a range of other factors— mental health, and a range of other factors have contributed to this decline — factors have contributed to this decline in— factors have contributed to this decline in health. today, we are reaping — decline in health. today, we are reaping what we have said ten to 15 years _ reaping what we have said ten to 15 years ago— reaping what we have said ten to 15 years ago in— reaping what we have said ten to 15 years ago in terms of the economic impact _ years ago in terms of the economic impact that— years ago in terms of the economic impact that is having from sick

leave — impact that is having from sick leave through to people being unable to work— leave through to people being unable to work at— leave through to people being unable to work at all because of their health — public health experts are calling this a crisis. the sicker the nation becomes, they warn, the weaker the job market, lower the tax take and lower the economic growth, while welfare and nhs bills climb ever higher. but, above all, people will suffer a much poorer quality of life. thank you, zoe conway. there�*s disruption for pupils and parents across much of scotland, with hundreds of schools closed because of strikes. support staff, including teaching assistants and caterers, have walked out for three days. it�*s after their union, unison, turned down a pay offer which would have meant annual incomes rising by about £2,000 for some of the lowest paid. here�*s our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon. what do we want? they are the nursery workers, _ what do we want? they are the nursery workers, the _ what do we want? they are the nursery workers, the janitors, l what do we want? they are the i nursery workers, the janitors, the canteen workers, the classroom

assistants, walking out in a row over pay. i assistants, walking out in a row over -a . ., ., assistants, walking out in a row over -a . ., . , over pay. i would rather be in school with _ over pay. i would rather be in school with the _ over pay. i would rather be in school with the children. - over pay. i would rather be in school with the children. the | school with the children. the children are vulnerable and we want to be with them at school. we don�*t want them stuck at home. but we want fair pay. we want to be valued in our work, and we are not. some of us here have got fourjobs to keep ourselves afloat, to keep food on the table and to heat up our houses. fourjobs, for this day and age? the disru tion fourjobs, for this day and age? the disruption from this track is significant, but the impact does depend on where you live. here in glasgow, primary is like this one have shut their doors for the day, while secondaries here are keeping some classes going. in many council areas including edinburgh, all state schools have had to close, while schools have had to close, while schools at a quarter of local authorities remain open. for many parents, it is more unwanted disruption.

parents, it is more unwanted disruption-— parents, it is more unwanted disrution. , , ., ., disruption. everybody has a right to strike, but being _ disruption. everybody has a right to strike, but being a _ disruption. everybody has a right to strike, but being a parent, - disruption. everybody has a right to strike, but being a parent, it's - disruption. everybody has a right to strike, but being a parent, it's a - strike, but being a parent, it�*s a pain having to get my wee one looked after. it pain having to get my wee one looked after. , ., ., ., , .,, after. it is hard going for us as arents. after. it is hard going for us as parents. today _ after. it is hard going for us as parents. today we _ after. it is hard going for us as parents. today we have - after. it is hard going for us as| parents. today we have logged after. it is hard going for us as - parents. today we have logged into googte _ parents. today we have logged into google classroom and they have tonnes _ google classroom and they have tonnes of— google classroom and they have tonnes of work to do. you have not -ot tonnes of work to do. you have not got the _ tonnes of work to do. you have not got the time — tonnes of work to do. you have not got the time to do it sometimes. £2000 _ got the time to do it sometimes. £2000 increase is being offered to those on the minimum wage and councils in the scottish government insist no more money is to up the deal unison, though, say this is too little, too late, too vague and too low and that is significantly better offer is needed to end the industrial action. lorna gordon, offer is needed to end the industrialaction. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. five people have appeared in court in london accused of spying for russia. the bulgarian nationals are accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy. 0ur correspondent daniel de simone is at westminster magistrates court.

defied bulgarian nationals appeared here at westminster magistrates�* court this morning —— the five of them. they were arrested in february and charged last week with conspiracy to conduct espionage. the five have lived in the uk for several years and some of them had apparently normaljobs. but the allegation is that they were secretly operating as a spy cell working on behalf of the russian state. the court heard new details about the case today. it is alleged that this group were involved in surveillance on targets both here and in europe, and that this surveillance was apparently for the purpose of assisting russia to carry out hostile action, including potential abductions. 0ne out hostile action, including potential abductions. one of the defendants, 0rlin roussev, is alleged to have run the cell from a seaside guesthouse in great yarmouth in norfolk was that he is said to have received tasking from abroad and was passed information abroad. the five defendants did not enter a

plea. they were remanded in custody to the four different prisons from where they appeared by video link today, and they have been remanded in custody to next appear at the old bailey in london next month. daniel, thank ou. the boss of the music streaming giant spotify has told the bbc there is a place in the industry for songs created by artificial intelligence. daniel ek said there are valid ways that al can be used — as long as it doesn�*t impersonate human artists without their consent. he�*s been talking to our technology editor zoe kleinman. that�*s archetypes, the duchess of sussex�*s podcast, which ended after one series. it was a flagship signing for audio streaming giant spotify. the company revolutionised the way millions of us listen to music, and branched out into podcasts and audiobooks. but the boss admits the firm doesn�*t always get it right.

spotify�*s invested a lot in podcasting. you had some big names. you had the 0bamas, you had the duke and duchess of sussex. they released 12 podcasts in two and a half years. was that worth £18 million? we thought we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators, new avenues to build new podcasts. and we�*ve succeeded with that. now, in part of that, we also sign lots and lots of new podcasters to this medium. and the truth of the matter is, some of it has worked, some of it hasn�*t. we�*re learning from those and we�*re moving on, and we wish all the ones we didn�*t renew with the best of success that they can have going forward. that was very diplomatic. i�*m getting better and better at it, so they would tell me! in april, a song that used artificial intelligence to clone the voices of drake and the weeknd, was removed from the service.

ed sheeran, one of spotify�*s most popular uk artists, has said he finds the technology weird. but the boss told me ai—generated music can be ok. you have no immediate plans to ban ai generated content from the player? no, we have no immediate plans. and, in fact, it wouldn�*t even surprise me that if we look at the top chart of spotify today, that there�*s a legitimate use of ai done by artists, and we would allow for them. and then there�*s the ones where it�*s clearly someone trying to steal someone�*s name or likeness, or even infringe on someone�*s ip, at which point we would say, that is not ok, that is not what we stand for, and we would take that down. some artists claim it�*s hard to make a living, earning a fraction of a penny for every stream of a track. spotify pays music rights holders, and says it�*s up to them how much they give the performers. there are more artists than ever that�*s being successful on spotify than ever before in history of music.

however, i�*m also empathetic, because there�*s also more people trying to make it in music than ever before in history, too. and you need something extraordinary to break through and be heard. and we�*re doing our part to expose more music to more people. # i got new rules, i count 'em...# upload a track and you�*re up against pop superstars like dua lipa and harry styles. # you know it's not. the same as it was...# but competition is also tough for spotify itself. its rivals include apple and amazon, and it has never made a profit. zoe kleinman, bbc news. the time is 13:19. our top story this afternoon: water companies are ordered to repay more than £100 million to customers. water comp. wales. and coming up, idris elba tells us why he�*s starring in the next installment of a

once—derided video game. back home for sarina wiegman as she takes her lionesses to the netherlands for a nations league type as england face the team she liked a euro 17 glory in utrecht. the summer counter offensive in ukraine is drawing to a close, without making the breakthroughs against russian forces that the people of ukraine had had hoped for. newsnight�*s diplomatic editor mark urban secured rare access to one brigade, the 24th mechanized brigade, which is fighting in the east. some of the soldiers and their families spoke to him about how they are bracing themselves for a long war with no end in sight. in this war, there are the hunted and the hunters. the ukrainians say their russian

enemy has far more drones, which makes camouflage, and remaining unseen, vital. so we were expecting a fire mission within five minutes. and then word came down on the radio to stand down, because a russian drone has been sighted somewhere near here. and that�*s really very typical of what�*s been happening — a constant battle of wits, a deadly battle of wits. this russian video shows what happens if you get it wrong — ukrainian self—propelled guns destroyed. we watched the artillery of the 24th mechanised brigade as its own drones searched for targets. then the order came through that they had won.

0nce they�*d fired, we were told to leave fast. a shell could soon be heading back in our direction. so, let�*s go. yeah. we got an inkling of the stresses they�*re under, but soldiers live under it permanently. where was the incoming? there, look — smoke. oh, yeah. i�*ve seen the smoke, yeah. no date has been set for their demobilisation. it�*s extremely hard to live with that. just how hard we saw at the medical centre, where one casualty was being brought in. it was described as a panic attack. and even our presence was setting people on edge. we�*ve had to leave the medical centre because the doctors were worried that our presence at the medical centre might make it a target. explosion.

but, of course, just as this brigade is being hunted, it�*s also finding its own targets. we joined the drone company as it hunted russians. and they can respond immediately by dropping various kinds of munitions. a new machine, called an fpv, can target the russians, even when they�*re taking cover inside buildings and trenches. here we have an assortment of fpv drones. so those are different manufacturers. some are ukrainian. two years ago, would you have ever imagined you would be doing this? oh, no, no. for god's sake, no. but what can we do? we can only fight and protect our land. ijust want it to stop. and for the... 0ur...neighbours to go away.

it�*s this ability to see so much more, and target it — some call it the transparent battlefield — that�*s made it so hard to take ground here. so much so that the men in this brigade are preparing for the autumn and winter ahead. mark urban, bbc news in eastern ukraine. you can see more you can see more on you can see more on that story on newsnight tonight on bbc two at 10:30pm. 20 people have died and hundreds have been injured in an explosion at a fuel depot in nagorno—karabakh. nagorno—karabakh is recognised internationally as part of azerbaijan — though large parts of it have been controlled by ethnic armenians for three decades. but following azerbaijan�*s seizure of the region last week, thousands of refugees have crossed the border into armenia. our correspondent sarah rainsford

is in kornidzor, on the border. explain what you have been seeing and what people are saying? what explain what you have been seeing and what people are saying? what we have been seeing _ and what people are saying? what we have been seeing here _ and what people are saying? what we have been seeing here is _ and what people are saying? what we have been seeing here is a _ and what people are saying? what we have been seeing here is a real, - have been seeing here is a real, huge stream, frankly, of cars and people coming across from nagorno—karabakh, a region in the mountains behind me, about ten kilometres from here to the border. people are coming in every vehicle you could imagine, we have seen a huge dumper truck with 25 children on board isjust peering over the edges of the truck. there are cars, many being towed because they have broken down en routes, tracks, every kind of vehicle. people coming out because azerbaijan has taken control of the territory. it has been disputed for decades, ethnic mart —— ethnic armenians were in the

majority but we are seeing a flight out of nagorno—karabakh by armenians who do not believe they are safe to stay in azerbaijan. we have been speaking to people in a nearby town where they are registering with the authorities, getting humanitarian aid, food, fruit, warm clothes and help. they said they felt they had no choice but to flee. most of them said they took the decision themselves, they were not compelled to leave by azeri forces but they do not believe the assurances of the azeri authorities that they would be safe to stay. authorities here say around 13,500 ethnic armenians have left nagorno—karabakh and come here to armenia. that is increasing all the time, we are seeing at least 100 more come across every hour. the exodus continues and the stories of pain, hunger, desperation and exhaustion as they come across this final checkpoint are continuing, i

think it will go on for a very long time yet. think it will go on for a very long time et. ., ~ think it will go on for a very long time et. ., ,, , ., ., time yet. thank you, sarah rainsford. _ the actor david mccallum has died at the age of 90. he became famous for his role in the 1960s tv spy drama the man from u.n.c.l.e. his 60 year career began in radio and went on to include films such as the great escape. more recently he worked on the us crime drama ncis, playing chief medical examiner donald "ducky" mallard for two decades. cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most controversial video game releases in recent memory, plagued with problems. today, the next instalment of the title goes on sale in an attempt to redeem the franchise�*s reputation. the game�*s creators have turned to a familiar british face in the hope of doing that. idris elba has been talking about the ever merging worlds of hollywood and gaming,

with our reporter guy lambert: when cyberpunk 2077 was originally released in 2020, expectations were high. do whatever it takes... starring keanu reeves, this would be a transformative experience unlike any game that came before. it didn�*t quite pan out that way — undercooked, unfinished and uninspiring. some gamers even asked for their money back. three years later, enter this man. updates and improvements to the game are now being capped off with a new release featuring a new star, idris elba. it�*s been a journey, and i�*m super—proud of where it is and what it�*s come out like. i�*m proud of my contribution. there was a component of performance, like real performance, in cgi, and mo—caption. that was the beginning component of this journey. then there was obviously the voice component. it�*s like being a puppet master, but without the strings,

you know what i mean? you�*re using this whole vessel to create something that you can�*t actually see. you do get a sense of what you�*re going to look like, early artist impressions of my character. i got a sense of it. then they put the thing on, they put the dots on your face and you start acting. and that was fun. union members representing the video games industry voted this week in favour of strike action to get extra protections that cover voice, motion capture and stunt work on video games. it comes in a year that has already seen screenwriters and actors go out on strike. i am in solidarity with the sag union and the writers. it�*s important that we stand up and, you know, own what we feel is right. there�*s more and more work going on for actors within games, doing motion capture. is that something you think will continue to grow and become more fluid work for actors? it�*s probably worth highlighting that video games and actors have always worked together,

always — voices, even if it�*s just for reference, they use actors typically for body movement and whatnot, ok? but obviously now, we�*re seeing more notable actors, who are usually noted in films, moving into gaming, and it�*s a sign of the times. like a good hollywood tale, we now find ourselves in the final act of the cyberpunk story. fans will decide if the game finds the redemption it�*s been seeking. guy lambert, bbc news. on tonight�*s six o�*clock news we have a special investigation looking at vaping by children and young people. doctors say the public health message that vapes are 95% safer than cigarettes has failed children and must be changed to stop more taking up the habit. much more on that tonight at six. time for a look at the weather.

here�*s stav da naos.