law. we think they competition law. we think they have been doing that by having a dominant position here and actually, any organisation that has dominant position has an obligation not to use that dominance to distort the market. apple, we argue, is actually stealing their customers towards their own services, not giving their customers a choice and thereby reducing the amount of competition there actually is across the market. so for that reason, consumers are ending up overplaying for a product one actually if there was a decent competition across the market, that product would be much cheaper and there would be more choices for them. find choices for them. and can you work out _ choices for them. and can you work out how _ choices for them. and can you work out how much _ choices for them. and can you work out how much they - choices for them. and can you work out how much they are l work out how much they are overpaying because apple has rejected any of these gestures that much a their practices aren't anti—competitive. they say that many customers rely on

third—party alternatives and say it works hard to make data transfer as easy as possible. they would say that because they are apple but any apple user would be well aware that apple encourages you and makes it very difficult for you not to use the apple ecosystem. you are sort of urged into it and then once you are in it, getting out of it is very difficult. we think there could be around a0 million uk customers impacted by this. that is all ipad and iphone users. this claim is worth in aggregate around £3 billion. that averages out to individuals is possibly around £70 each. so this isn't an insignificant amount of money and what we actually want to see is the market being opened up see is the market being opened up in a way that allows competitors into it so that consumers can have the choice to use other options and possibly cheaper options where

they are available. {flare possibly cheaper options where they are available.— they are available. give me an idea of the _ they are available. give me an idea of the timeline, - they are available. give me an idea of the timeline, how- they are available. give me an idea of the timeline, how long you think this legal action will actually take to come to fruition and to actually decide? if fruition and to actually decide?— fruition and to actually decide? , ., ., decide? it is not a good answer. _ decide? it is not a good answer, i'm _ decide? it is not a good answer, i'm afraid, - decide? it is not a good - answer, i'm afraid, because these things can take years. the reason being that competition law is particularly complex but also when you're up against a tech giant like apple, they will throw every resource they have at this to try and make sure it goes away. which is in here for the long run. we have filed our claim already and we are willing to take this all the way. ideally, what you want to see a apple coming to the table now, coming soon so that we don't have to go all the way through this, so actually we can resolve the situation and consumers who have been ripped off are actually compensated and the market can be opened up. realistically, though, how likely is that because when you look at the list, you have facebook, google, steamer, you

have other leading mobile providers, all facing some sort of legal claims at the same court. they are so many big battles going on between the big tech companies and consumers.— big tech companies and consumers. ., ., ., consumers. you are right and the reason — consumers. you are right and the reason that _ consumers. you are right and the reason that we _ consumers. you are right and the reason that we are - consumers. you are right and| the reason that we are seeing this at the moment is that it is a relatively new mechanism within the law that allows us to bring what we refer to as opt out a collective redress claims. these are the type of claims. these are the type of claims that we as which can bring on the health of consumers because otherwise, it would be basically impossible to individual consumers to take on apple in this way. this has only been available to us the last four years, which means that there is quite a lot of condensed action happening in the moment. that does mean that we have not yet had one of these cases come to a conclusion but we are really hopeful that once that starts happening, there will be a knock—on effect and actually, we will be able to reach

conclusions on these sooner rather than later.— conclusions on these sooner rather than later. thank you so much for _ rather than later. thank you so much forjoining _ rather than later. thank you so much forjoining us. _ rather than later. thank you so much forjoining us. it - rather than later. thank you so much forjoining us. it is - rather than later. thank you so much forjoining us. it is a - much forjoining us. it is a case to keep an eye on. thank you very much indeed. a couple of other stories before we take a break. king charles is marking his 76th birthday today by opening two hubs that will distribute large volumes of surplus food to food banks, schools and community centres. the king is treating his birthday as a working day, visiting suppliers, volunteers and users of a new food hub in south london and conducting a virtual opening ceremony for another, on merseyside. it's part of his coronation food project, designed to make better use of food that would otherwise be thrown away. japan's sake brewers hope a unesco heritage listing can boost its rice wine's global appeal. sake, the drink of choice for the nobility in the tale of genji — japan's most celebrated work of literature —

has been widening its appeal, boosted by the growing international popularity of japanese cuisine. sake officials make no secret of their hope that it will boost global sales, helping the age—old tradition stay alive amid competition from beer, wine and other beverages. sake exports from japan total over $265 million a year, with the biggest destinations being the us and china. now, you may not know his name, but you'll probably know him for this hit... # you were right there all along... that's stargazing by myles smith — a 26—year—old from luton who this year has had a top five hit, played glastonbury, got past one billion streams —

and hasjust been named bbc introducing artist of the year. it's an award previously won by the likes of celeste and declan mckenna. myles spoke to bbc newsbeat about getting the recognition and says it's slightly overwhelming. just to be in a list of so many incredible artists is just such a privilege, you know? and to do this, and to do this as a career, i never take it for granted. so just to be awarded for, you know, what so many other people are doing just feels so immensely incredible. and i'm just so proud of of what me and the team have achieved this year. let's speak to newsbeat reporter manish pandey, who did that interview. tell me a bit more about myles smith, who he is, where he has come from because he is simply exploded onto the scene? figs come from because he is simply exploded onto the scene? as you mention,

exploded onto the scene? as you mention. he _ exploded onto the scene? as you mention, he is _ exploded onto the scene? as you mention, he is a _ exploded onto the scene? as you mention, he is a 26-year-old - mention, he is a 26—year—old singer—songwriter from mention, he is a 26—year—old singer—songwriterfrom luton. he has got over 23 million monthly spot listeners. it is one of those where he started as a young child, he was learning guitar and piano as an 11—year—old at home and since ii—year—old at home and since then in the covid lockdown, he was posing vile covers on tiktok, where he has got 1.5 million followers. introducing artist this year, it culminates what has been a pretty big year for him, playing at glastonbury and radio 1's big weekend. he spent a number of years uploading songs for bbc introducing and this is sort of a celebration of everything he has tried of the past number of years —— viral covers. has tried of the past number of years -- viral covers.— years -- viral covers. many --eole years -- viral covers. many peeple may _ years -- viral covers. many peeple may not _ years -- viral covers. many people may not have - years -- viral covers. many people may not have heard years -- viral covers. many i people may not have heard of him, as i said in the introduction that they will have men of that hit because it has been an incredible 12 months, hasn't it? absolutely,

stargazing. _ months, hasn't it? absolutely, stargazing, over _ months, hasn't it? absolutely, stargazing, over 500 _ months, hasn't it? absolutely, stargazing, over 500 million i stargazing, over 500 million streams. it has taken over social media, so may people have connected with the song and he mentioned as well that it was an attempt for him to be quite authentic with hissing writing. but that is sort of in the boom that has helped him explode in the past year. he has also released nice to meet you quite recently, which is also gaining wrap numbers quite rapidly. it is definitely the soul that has catapulted him into everyone's mines. tell me a bit more _ into everyone's mines. tell me a bit more about _ into everyone's mines. tell me a bit more about bbc- a bit more about bbc introducing and what it can do for artists. introducing and what it can do for artiste— for artists. the award is well known for — for artists. the award is well known for tipping _ for artists. the award is well known for tipping the - for artists. the award is well known for tipping the next i for artists. the award is well. known for tipping the next big breakthrough artists. 0ver known for tipping the next big breakthrough artists. over the years, you have had a number of people when it, tom grennan, arlo parks, 0livia dean, the list goes on. while a lot of those artists will have released songs or an album beforehand, it really helps them gain recognition for the

work they have put in for a number of years. importantly, the young, aspiring artists as well, if you see someone who is becoming a big star go through bbc introducing, it acts as an inspiration for you as well, some would say, to achieve your dream and keep following your music path. dream and keep following your music path-— music path. you talked to him at length. _ music path. you talked to him at length. did _ music path. you talked to him at length, did he _ music path. you talked to him at length, did he tell- music path. you talked to him at length, did he tell you - music path. you talked to himj at length, did he tell you what he is planning to do next? he wants to _ he is planning to do next? he: wants to continue to make music and he has really looking forward to next year because he will be touring with his idol, ed sherron, which i think the many artists, would be a massive dream come true. —— ed sheeran. sir rod stewart has said he may have to sell his five beloved sports cars because there are so many potholes on the roads near his home in essex. this is an ongoing issue for rod as two years ago,

he took it upon himself to try to fix the roads, claiming "no—one can be bothered to do it". when we are back, will have all the latest from washington, the continued appointments being made by donald trump. we will pause for a little while and catch up with the latest by details. —— weather. hello. this relatively calm weather is with us for another 2a hours. beyond that, it's all change. we'll have screaming cold winds this time next week, but as far as friday is concerned, mist and fog in the morning in a few places and then with a bit of luck, some sunshine in the afternoon. now, the high pressure'sjust about with us, but the weather is changing way to the north. it'll take a few days for that high pressure to shift. now, through the early hours, we'll see some clear spells developing across parts of scotland and elsewhere across england and wales. and in one or two spots early in the morning on friday, t really could be quite nippy, perhaps two or three degrees, but out in the northwest

with a south—westerly breeze, a little bit milder in the morning for belfast and also glasgow. and that's because a weather front is approaching. ahead of the front, winds tend to pick up a little bit. that also means some rain for a time in northwestern and western scotland. around 13 here, but further east and south, i think it's going to be drier, brighter, even some sunshine. and then it's all change gradually through the course of the weekend. those northerly winds will develop initially in northern scotland and along the north sea coast. so here's the forecast map for saturday, shows weather fronts sweeping in from the north. you can see the high pressure is gone now and instead we've got a cold stream of air from the arctic. so here's our weak cold front moving across the country, bringing some spots of rain for a time. to the north, we've got some late sunshine, increasingly showery in the north, some of the showers turning to sleet and snow across the mountains, and temperatures around single figures. and then by the time we get to sunday, it really is a cold wind blowing from the north across scotland. five degrees in aberdeen with that chilly breeze. but temporarily we could see

just an incursion of some moisture, some rain into parts of ireland, wales and also central england. but beyond that, it's going to turn cold. in fact, the nights next week, most nights will bring a frost, whether you're north or south, but generally away from the coast. and you can see this cold air stream. it originates from the arctic, spreads across the norwegian sea, across the uk and further south. and while this happens, we'll also see low pressures crossing the country. and that could spell some snow, more especially for the hills of northern england and also scotland. the mountains for sure will get some snow, but we'll find out just how much of it will fall. it's very tricky to forecast that at this stage. that's it for me.

live from london, this is bbc news. breaking news this hour. serious allegations of abuse made against the younger brother of mohamed al fayed, salah fayed. salah was also a former co—owner of harrods. republicans raise concern as donald trump nominates the controversial far—right congressman matt gaetz as his attorney general. democrats are calling for a dropped ethics report into gaetz behaviour

to be released. a turkish man suspected of being a major supplier of boats across the english channel is arrested in amsterdam. dealing drugs and asking inmates for sex — why a record number of prison staff have been sacked for misconduct. we have a special report. and scientists to discover the single largest piece of coral in the southwest pacific ocean. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala. the bbc can revealfor the first time serious allegations of abuse against salah fayed, the younger brother of mohamed al fayed. three former harrods employees allege that salah fayed abused them between 1989—1997. one woman, who has waived her right to anonymity, told the bbc she believes she was raped by salah after she was drugged. salah, who died in 2010, was one of three fayed brothers who bought harrods in 1985.

the luxury department store is now under new ownership.