israel's prime minister tells the military to keep fighting with full force in lebanon, as the uk, us and other allies call for a 21—day ceasefire. dozens of prisoners have been let out ofjail by mistake under the government's early—release scheme. most have now returned to prison, but five are still free. the world's richest person, elon musk, hits back after not being invited to the uk government's investment summit. and coming up on bbc news, manchester united left to reflect on a frustrating start to their europa league campaign — held to a draw at home to fc twente. good afternoon. the current managing director of harrods has spoken out

for the first time after hundreds of women made allegations of sexual abuse against former owner mohamed al fayed. michael ward said in a statement the company failed our colleagues and that he wanted to make it clear that he was not aware of criminality and abuse. our correspondent, helena wilkinson, is in knightsbridge. helena. this is the first time we have heard from michael ward since the bbc documentary last week. let me read you a bit more of the statement we have had in the last hour. he says he wanted to convey his personal horror at the revelations that have emerged over the past week. he says that we have all seen the survivors bravely speak about the terrible abuse they suffered at the hands of former owner mohamed al fayed. we failed our colleagues and for that we are deeply sorry. the statement also goes on to say, i feel it is

important to make it clear that i was not aware of his criminality and abuse. while it is true rumours of his behaviour circulated in the public domain, no charges or allegations were ever put to me by the police, the cps, internal channels or others. the statement goes on to say, al fayed operated this business as his personal fiefdom. it is now clear he presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct. he ends by saying, this was a shameful period in the business history, however the harrods of today is unrecognisable to harrods under his ownership. he also said there is an independent review led by a non—executive committee of the board to further consider the issues arising from the allegations. that is the statement, the first time we have heard from

michael ward in the last hour since the documentary, the bbc documentary, was broadcast a week ago. documentary, was broadcast a week auo. �* documentary, was broadcast a week ao. �* documentary, was broadcast a week auo. �* yes, ago. bringing in new measures? yes, that is right- — ago. bringing in new measures? yes, that is right. harrods _ ago. bringing in new measures? yes, that is right. harrods previously - that is right. harrods previously said there was a settlement process, they are saying to anyone who might have any concerns, allegations, that they should get in touch with them. they have also revealed there are 50 sexual harassment officers that were introduced at harrods in the last year or so and the bbc today has revealed new harrowing details from a woman who was 16 when she says she was raped by mohamed al fayed. before being attacked, kate, like many women we've spoken to, was sent for intimate examinations. kate says hers was carried out by dr ann coxon. when i first started working for mohamed al fayed, he soon asked...

..started asking me inappropriate questions. like, did i have a boyfriend? had i been sexually active? i was only 16 years old and i was a virgin, and he soon discovered that. so, it was organised for me to see dr ann coxon of harley street for a medical examination. this was offered to me as a perk for working in the chairman's office. kate's new testimony adds to accounts already broadcast in the bbc documentary, which has started to uncover the role of other people around al fayed who helped facilitate his abuse. and ijust remember the doctor, you know, saying how wonderful he was, and didn't he look after his employees so well? i think the doctor who did my medical should be held accountable for providing information to mohamed, which he used to take advantage of us. two of the doctors —

dr wendy snell, who has since died, and dr ann coxon — have been repeatedly named by the women who've spoken to the bbc. dr coxon asked me to do an internal examination. she wanted to test for hiv and stds, but i said that i wasn't sexually active yet so therefore it was unnecessary. my concerns were brushed off and i was told that an internal examination was necessary. according to the women we've spoken to, in many cases their confidential medical results were sent directly to al fayed. once al fayed received their results, he abused them. and one night he summoned me to his apartment. well, i was scared, but i knew that i didn't have an option to say no. and he started to pressurise me into having sex with him, but i kept saying no. and then his mood changed and the threats started, and he had become angry.

the doors were locked and i couldn't get out. that's when he raped me. the role of the doctors has raised further questions about who else facilitated al fayed's abuse. women have told the bbc that some senior pas would send them up to his office, where they would then be abused. in previously unseen footage, one of the women, natacha, who's going to report dr coxon to the doctor's regulator, and katherine, says others around al fayed have questions to answer. we were so taken advantage of, so taken advantage of by this army of people. it was like, as you said, a production line. looking back, that's exactly what it was. the client agency, to the doctor... the doctor. ..to the lead pa and even the security guards. what about the drivers? the drivers, the security guards, nobody let on.

the bbc has contacted dr coxon for a comment. so far, we have not had a response. the growing number of women who accuse al fayed of horrific attacks now want those who enabled his abuse to be held accountable. it's affected so many areas of my life, but having to live with the deep shame of what happened to me from when i was young, being paranoid about walking by myself at night, not trusting men in any form, it's changed the course of my life and career in its entirety. ican bring i can bring you an update. the bbc has been trying to contact dr ann coxon. in the last hour we have managed to speak to her and dr coxon has said, i know you are just doing yourjob, but there is no comment and i will not be. the group of women you heard in my report have

now put a formal complaint into the general medical council about dr coxon. thank you. you can watch the documentary, al fayed — predator at harrods, on bbc iplayer. and if you have been affected by anything in that report, you can find information about organisations offering help and support on the bbc action line website. next, israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has dismissed calls for a ceasefire with hezbollah in lebanon. after a meeting of world leaders at the un general assembly in new york last night, members, including the us, uk and france, called for a 21—day ceasefire. our middle east correspondent, hugo bachega, reports from beirut. calls for de—escalation, unable to stop the war. across lebanon, more israeli air strikes today, hitting places like this in the south, the

east, beqaa, two strongholds of hezbollah. in northern israel, sirens went off again this morning, fresh rockets from hezbollah. as the attacks continue, so do efforts for attacks continue, so do efforts for a ceasefire. at the un in new york, intense diplomacy. the us, the uk and the eu proposing a temporary truce between israel and hezbollah but it is still unclear whether this will be enough to oppose the fighting. will be enough to oppose the fiuuhtin. , , , ., fighting. the rockets must stop now. the air strikes _ fighting. the rockets must stop now. the air strikes must _ fighting. the rockets must stop now. the air strikes must stop _ fighting. the rockets must stop now. the air strikes must stop now. - fighting. the rockets must stop now. the air strikes must stop now. talks| the air strikes must stop now. talks must start now. with an immediate ceasefire on both sides now. it is time to pull back from the brink. in lebanon, public services are struggling to cope with rising numbers of casualties and residents fleeing the conflict. but people are coming together, doing what they can

to help. this is another shelter thatis to help. this is another shelter that is housing people coming from the south and east, tens of thousands of people have already been displaced. if this conflict continues, many more will be forced to flee their homes. translation: i am exhausted, to flee their homes. translation: iam exhausted, i to flee their homes. translation: i am exhausted, i am concerned for my village. i’m translation: i am exhausted, i am concerned for my village.— concerned for my village. i'm very tired and upset _ concerned for my village. i'm very tired and upset to _ concerned for my village. i'm very tired and upset to see _ concerned for my village. i'm very tired and upset to see the - tired and upset to see the bombardment. when the war is over, we will go back to our village, what can we do?— can we do? this is the way it is. translation: _ can we do? this is the way it is. translation: we _ can we do? this is the way it is. translation: we have - can we do? this is the way it is. translation: we have been | can we do? this is the way it is. - translation: we have been living in our villaue translation: we have been living in our village for — translation: we have been living in our village for a _ translation: we have been living in our village for a while. _ translation: we have been living in our village for a while. it _ translation: we have been living in our village for a while. it has - translation: we have been living in our village for a while. it has been - our village for a while. it has been so stressful, it has been a horrendous week for my village in the south — horrendous week for my village in the south. ., ., ., , ., the south. you are 22, are you concerned _ the south. you are 22, are you concerned about _ the south. you are 22, are you concerned about your - the south. you are 22, are you concerned about your future? | the south. you are 22, are you - concerned about your future? yes, for sure. concerned about your future? yes, for sure- we _ concerned about your future? yes, for sure. we might _ concerned about your future? yes, for sure. we might be _ concerned about your future? yes, for sure. we might be dead tomorrow. so far. _ for sure. we might be dead tomorrow. so far. israel_ for sure. we might be dead tomorrow. so far, israel has been fighting only from the air but it may launch a ground offensive to push hezbollah

away from the border. the uk is urging citizens to leave the country while commercial options remain available. forthe while commercial options remain available. for the lebanese who cannot escape, there is hope diplomacy can stop the war. in a moment, we'll speak to our middle east correspondent, yolande knell, injerusalem, and our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, in new york. but first, let's go to hugo bachega, who is in beirut. hugo, how likely is a ceasefire? i think there is no sign israel and hezbollah are interested in de—escalation. from israel, the indications are the military is preparing a ground incursion into southern lebanon to try to a so—called buffer zone to destroy the infrastructure used by hezbollah and to push fighters away from the border. for hezbollah, they have been weakened, but they remain defiant, they continue to launch attacks, and they say these attacks are going to continue unless there is a ceasefire in gaza. very

difficult at the moment to see how they can detach themselves from the situation in gaza. across lebanon, the impact of this conflict is being felt. we are outside a shelter here in beirut which is housing hundreds of people displaced by the conflict in the south and many people have told us here that if the violence escalates, they fear they will never be able to return home.— escalates, they fear they will never be able to return home. thank you. to jerusalem. _ be able to return home. thank you. to jerusalem, our _ be able to return home. thank you. to jerusalem, our middle _ be able to return home. thank you. to jerusalem, our middle east - tojerusalem, our middle east corresponding yolande knell. israel dismissed calls for a ceasefire? well, there has been pushed back against the idea of the three—week ceasefire plan from across israel's political spectrum. one foreign minister said it amounted to a surrender. but the israeli prime minister office put out a statement pointing at the prime minister, on a plane travelling to new york for the un general assembly, has not formally committed yet. they were

commenting, really, on reports circulating in the israeli media suggesting as there had been a lull in fighting, noted over several hours, there was a suggestion the prime minister had given the green light forfighting to prime minister had given the green light for fighting to be east. prime minister had given the green light forfighting to be east. now, they have said the opposite is true and that the israeli military has been left with the instruction to continue fighting against hezbollah with full force and we have seen in the past few hours hezbollah rockets being fired once again towards israel's haifa area in the north, mostly intercepted, and israeli war planes hitting deep inside lebanon, including hitting the border crossing with syria, which israel says has been used to transfer weapons to hezbollah.- says has been used to transfer weapons to hezbollah. thank you. not to new york. — weapons to hezbollah. thank you. not to new york, our— weapons to hezbollah. thank you. not to new york, our diplomatic _ to new york, our diplomatic correspondent, james landale. presumably more talks today, more

diplomatic efforts there at the un? yeah, diplomats are paid to be optimistic and hopeful and they are not disheartened, those i have spoken to this morning, about the response from israel. they expected that, they need a proposal would get sucked into the mangle of internal israeli politics. they say benjamin netanyahu's office has not formally rejected the proposal, they have said, we have not responded. it is clear that the israelis knew all about this, this proposal that came out all at night did not come out of nowhere. it is not a surprise and therefore the world powers would not have made the proposal if they thought it was instantly going to be thrown out. they also say, look, big move by the americans. the americans were very reluctant to call for a ceasefire, israel's biggest backer, and for the americans to say, there should be a ceasefire, some in the

diplomats believe the israelis will not be able to dismiss quickly out of hand. benjamin netanyahu arrives here later today, talks will continue, diplomacy carries on, sadly as the fighting does too. some breakin: sadly as the fighting does too. some breaking news _ sadly as the fighting does too. some breaking news now. _ sadly as the fighting does too. some breaking news now. the _ sadly as the fighting does too. some breaking news now. the metropolitan police have made a statement in the last few minutes regarding the allegations against former harrods owner mohamed al fayed. daniel sandford is in london. what are the police saying?— police saying? very lengthy statement _ police saying? very lengthy statement from _ police saying? very lengthy statement from the - police saying? very lengthy - statement from the metropolitan police, one week after the bbc documentary exposing the scale of the allegations against mohamed al fayed. they are appealing for victims to come forward and contact the police. they also say that they are in contact with the lawyers representing the women to make sure that anybody who has featured in the media coverage or in contact with the noise has an opportunity to put information into the investigation. —— in contact with the lawyers. they

say, we must fully explore whether any other individuals could be pursued for any criminal offences, in other words, people beyond mohamed al fayed, who is obviously dead and cannot be pursued through the criminal courts. the first time the criminal courts. the first time the metropolitan police have said explicitly on the record they are looking for any other individuation who might have been involved. they are doing a full review of previous allegations made to the force and for the first time we have realised the scale of how many allegations had previously been made to the met police because they have said there were 19 allegations made to the met police between 2005 and 2023, relating to 19 different women for offences committed between 1979 and 2013. of the 19 allegations, three were allegations of rape, 15 allegations of sexual assault, one allegations of sexual assault, one allegation of trafficking. they say

they have also now received new allegations from people who had not previously contacted them about mohamed al fayed. the key message is, please come forward, get in touch with the police, we are now trying to see if there is a case to be built against any other individuals.— be built against any other individuals. ., ,, , ., an 18—year—old man has been charged with murder after a 15—year—old schoolboy was stabbed to death with a zombie knife in woolwich. daejaun campbell died from stab inuries after being attacked. jacob losiewicz will appear at bromley magistrates' court today. a ban on owning zombie—style knives and machetes came into force on tuesday, two days after the stabbing. nhs consultants in scotland have been offered a 10.5% pay rise. this would see consultants earn between £10,000 and £13,500 more a year. the british medical association will recommend its members approve the pay rise. an independent think tank has

suggested a radical overhaul of student loans and university funding in england to make the system fairer. the higher education policy institute wants to see better maintenance support and a national insurance charge for graduate employers. the government has yet to set out its long—term plans for funding universities. the ministry ofjustice has said that almost a0 prisoners who had breached restraining orders were wrongly let out under the government's early release scheme. 32 of the 37 are now back in jail. one of them went on to be charged with a new offence. our political correspondent hannah miller is in westminster. tell us more. when the government introduced its early release scheme it said it had no choice than to do so otherwise prisons would run out of space. but some prisoners were not supposed to be eligible. that included those who had been convicted of breaching a restraining

order, which was listed as an offence under the sentencing act of 2020. but a 31—year—old had had his case brought through the courts under older, out of date legislation. that meant when it came to working out who could and couldn't be released to the system didn't flag that amari ward was ineligible. he was let out and on the same day allegedly went on to commit a sexual assault. he will appear in court next month. when officials were looking at what had happened around his release and the circumstances of it, that's when they discovered there could be other people in the same situation. 37 prisoners in total who were released when they shouldn't have been. 32, the ministry ofjustice say, are now back behind bars. their convictions remain valid and the ministry of justice say they are working

urgently with police to get the remaining five people behind bars as well. we are told all the victims who were affected have been told and the crown prosecution service and the crown prosecution service and the government say they have taken steps to ensure this doesn't happen again. steps to ensure this doesn't happen aaain. ., ~' ,, steps to ensure this doesn't happen aaain. . ,, ., ., steps to ensure this doesn't happen aaain. . ,, i. ., ., ~ the time is1:20. our top story this afternoon... the current boss of harrods, michael ward, says the company failed its staff, after accusations of sexual abuse against former owner mohamed al fayed. and the former gloucestershire and england cricketer david "syd" lawrence talks about staying positive while living with motor neurone disease. coming up on bbc news, two british clubs in action on the second night of europa league fixtures — spurs are preparing to take on qarabag, with rangers in sweden ready to face malmo. one of the richest people in the world, elon musk, has not been invited

to the government's international investment summit. sources say it's because of the billionaire's social media posts during last month's riots, which were described at the time by ministers as utterly deplorable. next month's summit aims to attract tens of billions of pounds of investment. more from our economics editor, faisal islam. yes, this is quite the dilemma for the government, because on the one hand this international investment summit is essential for the government's general story on the economy, attracting the biggest investors in the world to invest in the industries of the future. you would imagine elon musk was pretty much central casting for that because he owns, he controls tesla, he runs one of the biggest private space operators in the world, and ai through eggs formerly known as twitter. on the other hand, his post during a very sensitive time for the uk, during the social unrest and riots here in august, were seen as

pretty inflammatory, and there was some misinformation spread and then deleted from his personal x account. that was the balancing act and my understanding is he was not invited to this crucial investment summit, and that was the main factor. he has got wind of this from our story this morning and has hit back saying people shouldn't go to the uk and repeated some of the allegations he made on his website. i think in general this shows the delicate balancing act, when you are trying to attract so much public investment, there will be welcomes for the leading lights of some countries that have questionable human rights records because they are such big investors, but elon musk, uninvited, and he doesn't seem too happy with the uk either. faisal islam, too happy with the uk either. faisal islam. thank _ too happy with the uk either. faisal islam, thank you. _ the family of a teenager who was murdered in a random machete attack have been speaking about their devestation and loss in court. two 12—year—old boys have been

found guilty of murdering shawn seesahai in a park near his home in wolverhampton. they'll be sentenced tomorrow. phil mackie is at nottingham crown court for us. this is day one of the sentencing. his family who are in anguilla can't afford to come over for the sentencing so they were watching via video link. a statement on their behalf was read out and they said his murder has left a huge hole in the pit of their stomachs which nothing can fill. they won went on to say they are devastated at a family, totally heartbroken and confused. they talked about the impact it has had on shawn's 15—year—old sister and her mental health. we have learned more about the 212—year—olds, the youngest people to convicted of murder in this country since the james bulger

killers in the 1990s. one of them revealed he had been exploited and traffic towards older boys who encouraged him towards caminati and the possession of knives. he had also been well known to social services. the other boy, a different background, a strong family and hadn't been known for causing much trouble. according to his barrister he said his prospects of rehabilitation are excellent. the hearing today has been adjourned and tomorrow we are back for the judge tomorrow we are back for the judge to pass sentence and that should happen by around this time tomorrow. phil mackie, thank you. the covid inquiry has been hearing testimony from a former national clinical adviser at nhs england, who visited around a0 intensive care units during the pandemic. breaking down in tears, professor kevin fong said the scale of death was "very difficult to capture in the figures" and said nurses told him they had patients "raining from the sky". our health correspondent sophie hutchinson is at the covid—19 inquiry. sophie, there's been some gruelling evidence so far.

there has indeed. we have heard some very powerful and harrowing evidence here this morning. professor kevin fong worked as the national clinical adviser in emergency preparedness, resilience and response during the pandemic. he described how badly hit some hospitals and i see you units had been. he said in many times and in many places the units were overwhelmed. professor kevin fong made around a0 visits to some of the worst hit of those hospitals and he said that icus were full and overflowing with patients, they were running out of staff, medication and equipment. he is described how resuscitation trolleys, which are vital tools in hospital, were being raided for equipment, and on one occasion a doctor told him it was like being in a war zone. i occasion a doctor told him it was like being in a war zone.- like being in a war zone. i was ureeted like being in a war zone. i was greeted at _ like being in a war zone. i was greeted at the _ like being in a war zone. i was greeted at the entrance - like being in a war zone. i was greeted at the entrance by - like being in a war zone. i was| greeted at the entrance by one like being in a war zone. i was . greeted at the entrance by one of the intensive care registrars. i asked — the intensive care registrars. i asked him _ the intensive care registrars. i asked him immediately what things

had been _ asked him immediately what things had been like. he replied, iwill never_ had been like. he replied, iwill never forget, had been like. he replied, iwill neverforget, he replied, it's been like a _ neverforget, he replied, it's been like a terrorist attack every day since _ like a terrorist attack every day since this— like a terrorist attack every day since this started and we don't know when _ since this started and we don't know when the _ since this started and we don't know when the attacks are going to stop. professor— when the attacks are going to stop. professor kevin fong said he saw icu units and spill—over areas crammed with patients so that those patients could have held hands. he said all nurses could do was run around and try to turn off alarms. he said it was like putting out fires. they had no time for anything else. he described a shortage of ppe when one chief executive had bought waterproof clothing from an outdoors shop for icu staff. he said senior doctors were so busy they were sleeping on the boots of their cars. he broke down on a number of occasions with emotion. he said the rate of death was massive, the impact on staff as well. he said some hospitals had run out of body bags and five, six, even ten

patients were dying every shift. sophie hutchinson, thank you. the public wi—fi networks at 19 train stations were subject to a cyber security incident last night which meant that users were shown a message about terror attacks. for the very latest on this, here's our transport correspondent sean dilley. sean, what more are you able to tell us? we have got some relative breaking news in that the third—party supplier of wi—fi to 19 out of 20 network rail managed stations said that through investigation with rail and their own third party supplier of the landing page, a company called global reach, the unauthorised changes to the landing page that directed people to this material the police have called it islamophobic in nature was made by a legitimate global reach administrator account. that wording is quite important because obviously it is subject to a criminal

investigation now, whether or not thatis investigation now, whether or not that is something detectives are exploring, someone doing this as a so—called insidejob. that is quite known, human intervention with cyber security incidents. or in this case, whether something has happened with the account itself. we will bring you all that detail as the day continues. the key thing to stress, though, is that no sensitive customer data has been taken because users were only being asked to confirm they accepted terms and conditions. what is quite scary, though, is that if somebody had a particular malicious intent they would absolutely be able to direct people to enter personal data and probably would have got away with that. in this case people have been directed to these websites and at the moment network rail arejust really stressing that no other systems have been compromised, no payment details have been taken. customers and passengers should feel safe and secure in their data because they were simply not asked to share any. because they were simply not asked to share any-— to share any. sean dilley, thank ou.

a reminder of our top headline this afternoon. the current boss of harrods, michael ward, says the company failed its staff after accusations of sexual abuse against former owner mohamed al fayed. and a look inside the hidden cornish recording studio which helped to launch the careers of bands including oasis. we'll have a full forecast in the next half hour, but it's time now for a quick look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini. following all the recent rain i'm going to start off with the better news in that it will be turning drier into the weekend. but also a lot chillier with a touch of frost for some. lot chillier with a touch of frost forsome. however, in the lot chillier with a touch of frost for some. however, in the meantime there is a lot more wet weather to come today and tonight too. many places across central areas of england had the ground already saturated, still a number of flood warnings in place and there is actually now an amber weather warning in place tonight and that is for parts of the midlands, central areas of england. i will have all

the details later. today would have been rob burrow�*s a2nd birthday. the rugby league player died injune after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2019. he, along with his former team—mate kevin sinfield, raised millions of pounds for research into the condition. now, another sporting legend has told the bbc about his mnd diagnosis. 30 years ago this was david lawrence — better know as syd — thundering in to bowl and terrifying batsmen. syd is a gloucestershire cricket club legend and a trailblazer, as the first british—born black player to represent england. he's been talking tojohn maguire. i still have your bow tie. yeah, yeah, yeah. there's one thing that syd lawrence's mnd diagnosis hasn't changed. progress is slow through gloucestershire's ground in bristol. hi, there. because everyone wants to talk to him. everyone has a story about syd.

he was one of the fastest, finest and most feared bowlers of his generation. that looked to me like a chance. now aged 60, he's recently been told he has motor neurone disease. i got the dreadful news in aboutjune that i had this disease, which is a tough one. if you've been a big, strong man all your life and then this one comes and hits you, it's a tough one to take. really tough. i've always done things myself, never had to rely on anybody. and then suddenly you're thrown in a situation where you can't dress yourself.

you need carers coming in to dress you, to shower you. that's very tough. i think you've got to park your ego at the door and get on with it. the very embodiment of the phrase larger than life, syd is coming to terms with the disease where mentally he's exactly the same, but physically so different. i've always been known to have this loud, booming voice, and i'm going to have to accept in a couple of months, six months, i might not have a voice. things like that, you've got to be able to process and get on with it. and i've recorded my voice as well. oh, you've done the voice bank? yeah, yeah. so at least when i speak,

it's in my own annoying voice. full volume. yes. he's held in very high regard here at gloucestershire and was made club president two years ago. recently he saw them win the t20 blast final. an emotional day. family, friends and his sport have rallied round. the professional cricketers association and its trust is providing great support. they helped me find a diagnosis and they helped me with the alterations in my house. they were able to get together and get me this lovely chair and the counselling. so yeah, they reached out and helped a lot. last week, syd's son buster changed his wedding plans to make sure his dad could speak

on his big day. it's been brought forward by a year, so i'm able to speak at it, yeah. i'll be ripping my son to pieces in the speech! syd is realistic about what the future means for him. at the moment, mnd has no cure. am i scared to die? i'm not scared to die. scary is when you don't know how you're going to die. most people are scared of that. i'm not scared. i know how i'm going to die, so that won't scare me. he remains, though, positive, aiming to raise money. as a former nightclub owner, he's planning a 2a—hour music event in his home city of bristol. he's determined to keep fighting.

you've always got to enjoy the moment and live in the moment. and rob burrow said, "you've got to be brave." that was his words, "you've got to be brave." and it's true — you've got to be brave. david "syd" lawrence ending that report byjohn maguire. still to come on today's programme... a group of parents in hertfordshirejoins forces and agree not to give their primary school children phones until they're fourteen. now it's time to join our colleagues with the news where you are. welcome along to sportsday with me, adam wild. the europa league continues tonight, with spurs boss ange postecoglou warning the expanding football schedule is reaching a "dangerous level". "they wanted it more" —

manchester united boss erik ten hag criticises his team's frustrating draw with fc twente. and after an anxious summer, british basketball is back. we catch up with one of the new league's new arrivals. welcome to the programme. the europa league continues this evening with another nine opening round ties in the new—look competition. tottenham welcome the azerbaijani side oarabag to north london, with the spurs head coach, ange postecoglou, warning that the expanding football schedule is reaching a "dangerous level". it's the first of their eight games in the league phase, with teams potentially having to play up to 16 matches to reach the final in bilbao in may next year. it comes just a week since manchester city midfielder rodri suggested that players could strike over fixture congestion. i think we're getting to a real

sort of dangerous level of what our expectations are around players. and, you know, instead of sort of focusing on one or two tournaments, it's about the calendar. you know, that's more of an issue. players don't get a break between seasons anymore like they used to. there's more tournaments, both in international and at club level, at continental level. so, like i said, it's going to get to a point where, you know, we're not going to have the best players out there playing. and probably even worse is, you know, them breaking down for various reasons. so it's definitely something that needs to be addressed. and it's notjust the british clubs struggling. ajax take on besiktas in another of tonights europa league matches, and the dutch side's former england midfielderjordan henderson has described the current workload on players as "crazy". it's something that needs looking at properly, like i said, especially for those international players because theyjust don't get any break at all for the whole season. and then even when it's the end of the season, they have nations league games

or they have a tournament. they have two weeks off maximum and then they have to do it all again. you know, it's crazy, so i think that really needs looking at and i'm sure the welfare of the players at some point will have to come forward and first in everybody�*s mind. rangers are the other british club in action this evening. they will bid to overturn what has been a poor record against malmo. the glasgow side are in sweden for theirfirst match of the competition, having lost twice to malmo in champions league qualifiers in the past 13 years. it wasn't the start manchester united were looking for in the europa league last night. they were held to a 1—1 draw against dutch side fc twente. and it was all about christian eriksen — he was the man who put united in front before the break with a cracking goal. however, unfortunately for eriksen, he also gave the ball away in the second half, allowing sam lammers to run in and equalise for twente. still, united do have seven more league stage matches.

99% is not enough. you have to give 100%. you have to kill the game, you have to finish it off. and we are leading 1—0, and then yeah, it's coming... and the team, we bring the game till the end. but you have to go for the second goal then you kill the game. we have to work on it, that's clear. i think we create enough chances. but yeah, we have to score, but it's not only up to them two players. definitely in this moment, not on rasmus because he'sjust returning, but also other players. across the front line, we have enough players who can score goals — with bruno, with garnacho, with amad diallo, all goal—scoring players. this season's women's champions league started with 72 teams. by tomorrow, only 16 will remain as the draw for the group stage takes place. manchester city are looking good to secure a return to the group

phase for the first time since 2021. gareth taylor's side lead paris fc 5—0 heading into their second leg in france this evening. arsenal missed out on the group stage last season as well — leah williamson has been ruled out of their second leg against hacken due to concussion. and celtic are attempting to become the first scottish team to qualify for the group stage. they lead ukrainain champions vorskla poltava1—0 going in to tonight's match in airdrie. arsenal will play preston north end in the fourth round of the carabao cup. that's after they beat league one side bolton wanderers convincingly. arsenal won 5—1 at the emirates, with 17—year—old ethan n'waneri scoring twice. raheem sterling also got a goal — his first for the club. it was the same scoreline at anfield, where liverpool comfortably beat west ham. diogojota and cody gakpo both scored twice, with mo salah getting on the scoresheet too. they'll face brighton away next.

i think you all knew, and that's also what we showed in the last weeks and today again, that we have many quality players. what pleased me most is that even if a lot of new players come in, they don't come in and try to have a good individual performance. they try to work really hard for the team because there was a lot of desire not to concede. and as a result of that, we had some good individual performances as well. britain's jack draper is through to the last 16 of the japan open following a straight—set win over mattia bellucci. draper, who is now world number 20, beat the italian for his first victory since defeat byjannik sinner in the us open semi—finals earlier this month. the victory marks a return to form for the 22—year—old after a disappointing davis cup in manchester where he lost his two singles matches. he'll now play polish second seed hubert hurkacz on friday. england say test captain ben stokes is "on track" to participate in the series against pakistan.

the all—rounder has been out with a hamstring injury since the beginning of august, but had what's been described as a "positive scan" yesterday. england travel to pakistan on tuesday with the three—test series getting under way a week on monday. even if he is on track to lead even if he is on track to lead the team, there's still lingering the team, there's still lingering concerns over whether he'll be concerns over whether he'll be able to bowl. able to bowl. tomorrow night, professional tomorrow night, professional basketball resumes in britain basketball resumes in britain after a summer when its very future after a summer when its very future seemed in doubt. seemed in doubt. there's been frantic activity; there's been frantic activity; restructuring the whole league restructuring the whole league and recruiting players. and recruiting players. among the new arrivals among the new arrivals is the american charles thompson. is the american charles thompson. for inspiration, he can known as the tiger. for inspiration, he can to look to his father. to look to his father. charles' dad twice boxed for charles' dad twice boxed for the heavyweight title of the world. the heavyweight title of the world. joe wilson picks up the story. joe wilson picks up the story. shot, charles. shot, charles. charles thompson — charles thompson — new basketball professional new basketball professional in leicester, nicknamed the bear. in leicester, nicknamed the bear. tony thompson — from orphanage tony thompson — from orphanage childhood to world title contender, childhood to world title contender,

he fought vladimir klitschko twice — he fought vladimir klitschko twice — known as the tiger. thompson and son. so he didn't really start boxing until he was probably about 30. but i mean, he never let it get down. he never was like, "oh, i started late. if i started earlier i could have did this., i could have did that." he never had that type of mindset and it's just always a push—through mindset. some of the best fighters would probably be basketball players because they have great footwork. so boxers are a lot more athletic than people give them credit for. because my floor is his ceiling, so, i mean, my father always wanted me to be a better man than he is, however, you, you know, quantify or determine that. basketball players are some of the most athletic people in the world, so it's obviously a connection. well, they're preparing for a new season and a new league formed by a consortium of the club. the last league dissolved injune when the finances collapsed. it's been an anxious summer. as player and coach rob paternostro is starting his 25th season in british basketball, he has a strong perspective. when i first arrived over here, -

just having a general conversation about basketball with anyone in the country, it was uniquel when someone knew the game. now, so many more people are now. growing up with the game and you can see with the participation levels - around the country, pretty soon it's going to be hard to stop. as for charles thompson, well, we prepared a little family encouragement. hey man, from the tiger to the bear. you know, it's your turn now. you know, take it and run with it. i know you're going to be a star whatever you choose to do and wherever you land. so, you know, go for it. charlie bear, mommy loves you! that's it. | he knows! that's amazing. 3,000 miles from home, sport starts with the heart. joe wilson, bbc news, in leicester. finally for now, organisers of the cheltenham festival have announced changes aimed at improving competition and the experience of racegoers. in an effort to increase interest and field sizes, conditions for five races will be altered from next year, with the turners novices' chase

being downgraded from a grade one contest to a handicap chase. there'll also be changes for fans getting to and from the course after complaints about traffic and vehicles being stuck in the mud after heavy rain at this year's event. plenty more on all those stories over on the bbc sport website, including build—up to all those europa league and women's

joe, what more do we know? it was here late on monday that alice webb was brought. she had what is called a brazilian butt lift, or bbl operation here in gloucester. in the early hours of tuesday morning she died following complications. i have spent the morning in kingswood, the village where she lived and worked. people who knew her there are clearly shocked, clearly deeply upset by what has happened. she was a mother of five children. in a post on facebook her partner dane knight said he wants to send a heartfelt thank you to all family and friends that were here for us in our time of need, including all the kind messages sent to my children and myself. as i said, they had five daughters together who will now be growing up without her mother. these procedures are not illegal. they are called in on the surgical but they

are clear very severe, involving the injection of fillers or fat into the back side for aesthetic purposes. there has been growing concern around them. they are often done in nonsurgical settings. around them. they are often done in nonsurgicalsettings. campaign nonsurgical settings. campaign groups say nonsurgicalsettings. campaign groups say they are non—sterile settings. there have been examples of people dying abroad from having this done but the campaign group save face so it is the first time someone has died here in the uk. i think it will lead for increasing calls for regulation or for something to be done to manage the procedure. jae something to be done to manage the rocedure. , ., ., ., ., ,, something to be done to manage the rocedure. , ., ., ,, , ., it's a tricky decision for many parents — when to give their children a mobile phone. well, a group of parents at one primary school in hertfordshire have agreed not to give their children smartphones until the end of year 9, when most will have turned 1a. our reporter nicola hasler explains why. it's the dilemma facing almost every parent these days, as your child reaches the last few years of primary school. should you give in to peer

pressure and get them one of these, which these days all tend to be smartphones? but what if you don't want to, but worry yours will be the only child without a phone? well, there's now a growing movement of parents saying no to smartphones. here in hitchin, the parents and teachers have come together in an attempt to make childhood phone—free. i think it's about giving people choice. i think before, you didn't have a choice. everyone was getting phones. that's just what you did. but now there is that option. there's this growing number of people who feel the same as i do, that having a smartphone probably isn't the best thing to do. it's just around the addictive nature of these devices, and how it then can absorb them into some kind of world where it takes them away from playing with their friends, from human interaction. they are distraction devices, as well as gateways, - if they are given unbridled access, gateways into- the entire internet. we just thought that that wasn't 0k and wanted . to change that norm.

this primary school is asking parents to sign up to a pledge to delay giving children phones until the age of 1a. via the pact, hopefully, what we're doing is trying to build that community whereby more children do not have phones than do. it makes it easier for parents to say, well, actually a lot of your friends are not on that and don't have that, and therefore we don't need to, we don't need to give you access to it. according to ofcom, 8a% of bullying in 8—17—year—olds is via their phone. a report by king's college found those with high phone usage are twice as likely to have anxiety. and new research in america shows the younger a child gets a smartphone, the worse their mental health is as an adult. i do have a smartphone, and i was ten when i got one. i got it for my tenth birthday. the reason i don't have one| is because i don't want one. i know that some people get a phone just because of the peer pressure, and like everyone else is like, "oh, have you seen this new app? have you seen this new

thing on your phone?" so they mightjust want to get it to be involved with other people. i wouldn't, but if i could, i'd text my friends all day long. as long as we're not using them for stuff| we're not supposed to, i and using them too much, i think it's fine. there's such an incredible wave of change happening now. it's really exciting, actually, because i think everyone's starting to believe we can do something about this. this primary is now asking others in hitchin tojoin them in normalising not giving children smartphones. nicola hasler, bbc news. as thousands of fans look forward to oasis reuniting on tour next year, a music studio in cornwall has been looking back at its involvement in the band 5 debut album. most of the tracks on definitely maybe were recorded at sawmills studio near fowey. our reporterjohnny rutherford went to have a look around.

i'm on a journey of discovery. tucked away in a creek off the river fowey near golant in cornwall, is a music studio that is only accessible by foot or boat. at first glance, it doesn't seem very rock n roll, but for the last 50 years, the sawmills studio has hosted a wealth of famous musicians, including oasis, recording theirfirst album here 30 years ago. hello, john. hello. welcome to the sawmills. thank you. and this is the lounge area where the bands used to hang out. there used to be the pool table here. ruth taylor was studio manager at that time. ..was a sound system where liam played me his first single, which wasn't recorded here. and he put it on the turntable. he said, "listen to this, ruth, we're going to be massive." and i thought, "pfft, really?!" # i'm feeling supersonic # give me gin and tonic...# forjust over a week,

the band chilled out at the residential recording studio and captured the rest of the tracks for their debut album, definitly maybe. so this is where the real action happened, but obviously the recording happened downstairs. down below. oasis had already attempted to record the album elsewhere before they came to sawmills. they were desperate to have another go. they had ten days to do it and it was a question of getting it right this time. they decided to come in and basically nail it| live, which is the way. i like to record anyway. just record things, you know, all the band together. - and they worked through the backing tracks pretty quick so you could - tell they'd played them a load of times because there - was no messing about. theyjust got in there and bang, bang, bang a few takes, - nailed it. i'm pleased to say it worked. you're pleased with the result? yes, absolutely. and particularly the mix

that they came outwith. it may have been technically against all the rules, but it sounded great. fastest selling debutj album by a new band of all time at that time. the britpop period was quite exciting _ the britpop period was quite exciting because there was a lot going _ exciting because there was a lot going on— exciting because there was a lot going on and a lot of people were beating _ going on and a lot of people were beating a — going on and a lot of people were beating a path to our door, notjust oasis. _ beating a path to our door, notjust oasis. the — beating a path to our door, notjust oasis, the verve, supergrass, catatonia. _ oasis, the verve, supergrass, catatonia, kenichi.— catatonia, kenichi. and like sopergrass _ catatonia, kenichi. and like supergrass before - catatonia, kenichi. and like supergrass before them, i catatonia, kenichi. and like l supergrass before them, rock catatonia, kenichi. and like - supergrass before them, rock band muse kicked off their career with recordings at the studio. what is it about sawmills that brings success? it's just a magical place, about sawmills that brings success? it'sjust a magical place, the spirits— it'sjust a magical place, the spirits in— it'sjust a magical place, the spirits in the _ it'sjust a magical place, the spirits in the trees, - it'sjust a magical place, the i spirits in the trees, apparently, it'sjust a magical place, the - spirits in the trees, apparently, we were _ spirits in the trees, apparently, we were told _ spirits in the trees, apparently, we were told by— spirits in the trees, apparently, we were told by some _ spirits in the trees, apparently, we were told by some mediums- spirits in the trees, apparently, we were told by some mediums who l spirits in the trees, apparently, we - were told by some mediums who came down here, _ were told by some mediums who came down here, they— were told by some mediums who came down here, they said _ were told by some mediums who came down here, they said we _ were told by some mediums who came down here, they said we have - were told by some mediums who came down here, they said we have spirits. down here, they said we have spirits in the _ down here, they said we have spirits in the trees— down here, they said we have spirits in the trees here, _ down here, they said we have spirits in the trees here, and _ down here, they said we have spirits in the trees here, and they- down here, they said we have spirits in the trees here, and they are - down here, they said we have spirits in the trees here, and they are goodj in the trees here, and they are good spirits— in the trees here, and they are good spirits and _ in the trees here, and they are good spirits and they _ in the trees here, and they are good spirits and they are _ in the trees here, and they are good spirits and they are very _ in the trees here, and they are good spirits and they are very creative - spirits and they are very creative spirits _ spirits and they are very creative spirits so — spirits and they are very creative spirits. so there _ spirits and they are very creative spirits. so there you _ spirits and they are very creative spirits. so there you go, - spirits and they are very creative spirits. so there you go, that's. spirits. so there you go, that's

what _ spirits. so there you go, that's what it— spirits. so there you go, that's what it is, _ spirits. so there you go, that's what it is, it's _ spirits. so there you go, that's what it is, it's the _ spirits. so there you go, that's what it is, it's the spirits- spirits. so there you go, that's what it is, it's the spirits in- spirits. so there you go, that'sj what it is, it's the spirits in the trees! — what it is, it's the spirits in the trees! �* , trees! laughter - yeah. - trees! laughter . yeah, it - trees! laughter . yeah, it is - trees! laughterl . yeah, it is pretty trees! laughter _ . yeah, it is pretty peaceful here. i'm starting to get a bit of a noel vibe. # you've got to make it happen # you've got to make it happen # you've — # you've got to make it happen # you've got— # you've got to make it happen # you've got to _ # you've got to make it happen # you've got to make _ # you've got to make it happen # you've got to make it - # you've got to make it happen... liam has been playing the definitely maybe album on its 30th anniversary tour. and of course, next year the brothers are together for their oasis live �*25 world tour. as for the studio, the owners are looking to sell sawmills to a musician or producer that could keep the place going. johnny rutherford, bbc news. thanks to johnny for reminding thanks tojohnny for reminding us it was 30 years ago since that album, definitely maybe,, making us feel old. now the weather with elizabeth rizzini. rain, certainly. it has been very

wet lately, you don't need me to tell you that. three times the average september rainfall already recorded across many central areas of england in particular. the rivers are full and the ground is saturated and there is still 27 flood warnings in place, again, mostly across the midlands, centralareas in place, again, mostly across the midlands, central areas of england. amber weather warning here overnight and i will come to that in a moment. across england and wales this afternoon a lot of wet weather is coming in the form of thunderstorms. there will be some bright and sunny spells in between but some particularly heavy downpours and some of those showers could start to emerge at times. there's also more heavy rain piling into north—eastern areas of england from the north sea with a brisk easterly wind blowing. the rain stretching across the north west england and northern ireland but it will start to sink further south and east across the north yorkshire moors later on in the day. to the north of the rain, a lot of dry weather in scotland with brightness and showers to the north. it is cold here with a northerly wind. thunderstorms and brighter

spells across england and wales. it is feeling milder here. this is the area of most concern again tonight, amber weather warning in place from the met office, bree prepared for more flooding and tricky travel conditions through the evening rush hour and conditions through the evening rush hourand again in conditions through the evening rush hour and again in the morning rush hour and again in the morning rush hour tomorrow, stretching from birmingham, leicester, down into worcester, gloucester, cambridge, peterborough, and oxford in the south. a lot of heavy rain, as much as 30 or a0 millimetres in three hours. double that in six hours. some of these showers likely to be very heavy indeed, merging together all sinking south through tonight. further north, clearer skies and a northerly wind of a much colder feeling air digging in. showers across scotland and some showers across scotland and some showers across the hills could be wintry. that's the change into the weekend. this is how we are starting tomorrow morning. it has now turned drier across central areas of england but we do still have some rain across parts of east anglia, the far

south—eastern quarter. that will clear and a northerly wind will develop. this is it in a bit more detailfor friday develop. this is it in a bit more detail for friday morning. the develop. this is it in a bit more detailfor friday morning. the rain eventually clearing away, as will the cloud, probably by lunchtime. some sunshine developing. in the sunshine it won't feel too bad but colder air starting to dig in and temperatures not getting much past eight or nine in the north, 12 or 15 celsius further south with a cold northerly wind that will feel quite chilly for the time of year. but at least it will be dry and there will be some sunshine before high pressure builds in from the south—west in the weekend with lighter wind on friday night, a touch of frost in the north. possibly a widespread ground frost and localised frost further south. saturday is a much nicer looking guy of weather with a lot of sunshine around, cloud for the irish sea coast and to north west scotland we will see some showers. largely dry on saturday but feeling chilly, yes,

highs ofjust11—15 celsius. looking at sunday, a bit more cloudy, could be outbreaks of rain and turning quite unsettled on sunday night into monday morning. plenty more on our top stories on the website and bbc news app. that's all from today's bbc news at one. enjoy the rest of the day. goodbye.

live from london. this is bbc news. police say they will conduct reviews of allegations about crimes relating to sexual assault claims made against mohamed al fayed.

israel's prime minister tells the military to keep fighting lebanon's hezbollah with full force — after world leaders call for a 21—day ceasefire. meanwhile, lebanon says 20 people, almost all syrians, were killed in an overnight israeli strike, after the israeli military said it hit hezbollah targets in the area. and injapan, the world's longest—serving prisoner on death row has been acquitted — more than a half a century after his conviction. hello, welcome to bbc news now. three hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. we start with another development regarding the accusation against mohamed al fayed. the metropolitan police are investigating whether any individuals could be pursued for criminal offences. around

200 former employees have come