increasing gas and electicity prices have pushed the figure to its highest level in six months — we'll explain what it means for you. also on the programme: days after allowing ukraine to use long—range missiles donated by the us, president biden agrees to send landmines to help in the war with russia. the maker ofjohnson�*s talcum powder denies the product caused cancer — as nearly 2,000 people begin legal action claiming it did. rafa nadal — one of tennis�*s greatest champions — finally ends his glittering sporting career. ijust want i just want to be remembered ijust want to be remembered as a good person and a kid that followed their dreams.

and it's a late night on the cards for country fans — as the annual country music awards comes to the uk for the first time. and coming up on sportdsay later in the hour on bbc news: wales are on the up — a thumping win over iceland sees them gain promotion to the top tier in the nations league. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. the rate of inflation has seen its steepest month on month rise for two years. it's up to 2.3%, from 1.7% in september. the office for national statistics says that's partly down to the increase in the energy price cap, which has meant higher costs for gas and electricity. the chief secretary to the treasury, darrenjones, acknowledged more needs to be done to ease the financial pressure on families. here's our business

correspondent, marc ashdown. can i start by taking your full name, including your date of birth, please? utilita is an energy supplier which specialises in prepayment meters, which are often used by more vulnerable people. as winter looms, a growing number of calls are coming in from those struggling to afford their bills. we see customers on the lowest incomes, heir gas consumption is decreasing. that means that their home is more likely to be a source of illness in terms of respiratory illness, young children not having a warm room in the property. the 0ns measures how fast the 0ns measures how fast the prices of a typical basket the prices of a typical basket of goods are rising. of goods are rising. this chart shows the inflation rate. this chart shows the inflation rate. see, how it was pretty steady see, how it was pretty steady for many years, but shot for many years, but shot up following the pandemic up following the pandemic and particularly after the russian and particularly after the russian invasion of ukraine, which had a big invasion of ukraine, which had a big a big fall in the rate. impact on energy prices. impact on energy prices. it peaked at more than it peaked at more than 11% in october 2022. 11% in october 2022. now, because the bank of england put now, because the bank of england put interest rates up, consumers interest rates up, consumers and businesses tighten their belts. and businesses tighten their belts.

and, look, there's been and, look, there's been a big fall in the rate. now, today's figure shows prices were rising at a rate of 2.3% in the year to october. that's a bigger than expected rise from september, driven largely by the energy price cap going up again. so, should we be worried about another big spike? well, if we zoom in on the monthly figures for 2024, we can see inflation has been fairly steady at around the bank of england's target of 2%.

businesses of all sizes are grappling with how to cope with a raft of measures served up by the budget, which are set to increase their costs. lidl, britain's fastest growing supermarket, is hoping not to have to put prices up. i think all businesses across our industry are now going to be experiencing added cost pressures next year, no doubt. but we are a resilient business and we know how to deal with inflationary pressure, we know how to deal with economic headwinds, so that we deliver first and foremost for the customer. a festive interest rate cut is now very much in the balance, while households continue to feel the impact of rising prices. marcjoins me now. marc this is the kind of thing that might make people nervous — what does this mean for us? ican i can understand that around the headlines when this uptick is higher than when forecasts were made. i'm here to try and calm nerves. we are

not heading for a big uptick is the thought. the sorts of things that could put up inflation, increased public spending delivered a headache for businesses who will be paying higher national insurance and minimum wage. several ways they can deal with that. they can cutjobs, squeeze wages, take a hit to their profits and pass some on to the the o'. 0ns figures on food increases, on everythi on up the o'. 0ns figures on food increases, on everythi on tow the o'. 0ns figures on food increases, on everythi on to the profits and pass some on to the customers. the government hopes they customers. the government hopes they will invest. big decisions for every will invest. big decisions for every business. globalfactors play a business. globalfactors play a role, donald trump is promising role, donald trump is promising trade tariffs and he is promising to trade tariffs and he is promising to end the war in ukraine. there could end the war in ukraine. there could be cheap russian gas as a result. be cheap russian gas as a result. the o'. 0ns figures on food the o'. 0ns figures on food

increases, on everything, up increases, on everything, up 20%. the cost of every day basics hitting everybody in the pocket.— the cost of every day basics hitting everybody in the pocket. let's speak to our political correspondent iain watson who's at westminster. iain what's the reaction been to these figures? we had the understudies at prime minister's question, the shadow cabinet minister was leading the charge for the conservatives with kemi badenoch standing down. he said that labour were stoking the inflation increase, firstly by agreeing to big public sector pay increases and because of the budget. the difficulty for him when he attacked angela rayner was she was able to point out that he was a minister in the conservative government when inflation stood at ii%. but the government when inflation stood at ii%. but the government is under pressure on a number of fronts, the conservatives and liberal democrats brought up the anger of farmers over

the tax changes they're facing. and they said they were punishing people who don't usually vote labour. not just the farmers, but small businesses, parents with kids in fee paying schools and pensioners. but the government says some of the difficult decisions are necessary, because of the state of the public finances bequeathed to them by the conservatives.— the united states is going to provide ukraine with antipersonnel land mines to help shore up its defences in the war with russia. landmines are banned by international treaties, but america and russia are not signatories. washington says kyiv has given assurances it won't increase the risk to civilians. 0ur correspondent will vernon has the latest. the latest addition to ukraine's arsenal — antipersonnel land mines, like the ones shown here, but with a shelf life. they can be programmed to become enactive after hours or days, making them less

dangerous to civilians. it's hoped the weapons will help slow russia's steady advance in the east. the news comes one day after ukraine carried its first strike inside russian territory using atacms, us—supplied long range missiles like the ones seen here. president zelensky said the attacks will continue. translation: ukraine has long range capabilities. - now we have missiles s as well and we will be using all of that.

itself for a tough winter. will vernon, bbc news. let's get the latest from the us with our correspondentjessica parker. what's behind president biden�*s thinking on this? this well, of course this is the second major policy shift byjoe biden in days. first the one on long range missiles. we were told that was in response to russia's deployment of north korean troops. 0n mines, probably designed to help ukraine slow russian advances. a areas. it is difficult to know how that wil slow egulated. land 7: ~ . —~ ~ ~ areas. it is difficult to know how that wil slow russian. land 7: ~ . —~ ~ ~ areas. it is difficult to know how that wil slow russian advances. ~ . , ~ ~ ~ defence official told us there will areas. it is difficult to know how that wil slow russian advances. a ~ . , ~ ~ ~ ukraine slow russian advances. a defence official told us there will be conditions of use. ukraine can't be conditions of use. ukraine can't deploy them in densely populated deploy them in densely populated areas. it is difficult to know how areas. it is difficult to know how that will be regulated. land that will be regulated. land mines,

many countries have banned them, although russia has been using them. joe biden i think is probably trying to help ukraine while he can in his final months, perhaps in anticipation that a donald trump presidency could push to kyiv to attempting negotiations. donald trump has his transition team in place and he has expressed scepticism about the us aid going to ukraine and he said that he would end the war quickly. volodymyr zelensky has been saying he thinks if the us cuts off aid that he thinks ukraine would lose the war and he made that remark on donald trump's favoured channel, fox news. perhaps not a coincidence.— perhaps not a coincidence. thank ou.

a 92 year old man has been charged with the murder and rape of a woman 57 years ago. ryland headley is accused of killing louisa dunne, who was 75 when she was found dead at her home in bristol in 1967. 0ur reporter danjohnson is there, dan what more can you tell us about this case? yes police announced yesterday they had made a break through in this case, 57 years after louisa dunne was killed and a 92 man had been arrested and questioned. ryland headley was charged with murdering and raping her in 1969. the case has been unsolved for nearly 60 years. ryland headley appeared in court via a video link. he was only required to speak to confirm his name and address. it is not clear how police made the break through after the passage of so much time, but police have been trialing artificial intelligence programmes in reviewing some of their cold cases, although

they have not confirmed that played a part in this case which they say they had been reviewing since last year. ryland headley was not given a chance to enter a plea and the judge said she had no power to grant him bail. he will appear at crown court tomorrow. 57 years is thought to be the longest time span between an incident and an arrest. family and friends of the one direction star liam payne are attending his funeral in buckinghamshire this lunchtime. the musician's former bandmates are among those who have arrived to remember him. 0ur music correspondent mark savage is there, mark. well as you can see, behind me, a couple of minutes ago a horse drawn carriage drew up with the coffin of liam to keep

family have asked us to keep the location private. as a result, there are very few fans here and online we have seen 0ne direction plans asking each other not to attend. guests started arriving a little over half an hour ago. we saw all four of his band mates arrive. zain malik postponed the start of his european tour to be here. also were simon coull and sheryl, the mother of liam's son. the service will start shortly. in the family have shared their memories of his humour and the light that he brought to every room. the service will last for about an hour. �* . . ~ the service will last for about an hour. 1, . ~ ., ,, the service will last for about an hour. 1, . ~ ., i. ., ~ i.,

nearly 2,000 people in the uk are taking legal action against the manufacturer ofjohnson s baby powder, claiming repeated use caused their cancers. johnson and johnson denies any link between its product and the disease. charlie haynes reports. linda jones is one of hundreds of women preparing for legal action against the makers of johnson's baby powder. before i started using it, my parents were using it on me. itjust was the norm. it was a household staple. after repeated urine infections and problems with her bowel, she went to her doctor. she soon received the worst news of her life. and i had an official diagnosis that i had ovarian cancer stage four — serious — and i was straight on to basically palliative care. there is no cure. as linda researched her cancer, as linda researched her cancer, she found reports in us media she found reports in us media of a possible connection of a possible connection with her use of talcum powder. with her use of talcum powder. according to the american cancer according to the american cancer society, talc, a mineral known society, talc, a mineral known

for its softness, can contain for its softness, can contain asbestos, a substance known asbestos, a substance known to cause cancer. to cause cancer. women in the us diagnosed with cancers like linda's have successfully sued j&j. at least $3 billion has been paid out and another 10 set aside. talc and asbestos are similar minerals and can be found in the same mines. and central to these cases are claims thatj&j knew of traces of asbestos in their baby powder decades ago. now, johnson and johnson strongly dispute these allegations against their baby powder. they describe them as plainly wrong and that they defy logic, rewrite history and ignore the facts. tom longstaff represents all uk cases. this case is a blatant example of corporations placing profits ahead of people.

many of the court cases in the us. the science is disputed, with experts for both sides disagreeing whether or not there is a link. so what about the baby powder in your cabinet? j&j now use cornstarch instead of mineral talc. they withdrew it from north america in 2020 and in the uk last year, citing a campaign of misinformation. lawyers have started legal action with a pre—action letter. they expect to be in court next year. but for linda, whose cancer is expected to be terminal, she wants the case settled while she still has time. nobody knows — it could come back in three months, six months. most of us are terminal and we're not actually going to see the end of it. charlie haynes, bbc news.

the time is 13.16. our top story this afternoon: and the tennis great rafa nadal plays his final match — after 22 grand slam titles, and more than two decades competing at the top of the game. coming up on sportsday in the next 20 minutes on bbc news. and coming up on sports day in the next 20 minutes will it be a decade of domination. pep guardiola has committed to another year at the club, signing another year at the club. the author and campaigner damejasvinder sanghera — who's been appointed by harrods to advocate for survivors of sexual assault by mohammed al fayed — says the scale of his abuse could be similar to that ofjimmy savile s. speaking to the bbc in her first interview she says the late billionaire businessman s tentacles went far and wide. 0ur correspondent ellie price reports.

i have spoken up about my time there on numerous occasions. most of the time it has been shut down. it's been two months since the bbc documentary about mohamed al fayed was released, and still the scale of his abuse is not clear. the agreement for me leaving was i had to shred all of the evidence. 290 women are currently engaged in a compensation process offered by harrods' new owners. but now the woman appointed by the department store to help guide survivors through it, says she believes there are still many who haven't come forward and the circumstances surrounding the multiple cases of abuse we do know about are shockingly similar to another notorious sex abuser. we could be talking about something on the scale ofjemmy savile. because what we do know is that there are many people, and survivors have said this to me already that were complicit. they looked the other way. you know, this could not have happened without people knowing about it.

and he used his position of power and influence. so, you know, this could be on the scale ofjemmy savile. i would say yes to that. absolutely. jemmy savile was one of britain's most infamous and prolific sex offenders. the tv presenter and dj use philanthropic work as a cover for his abuse until his death in 2011. damejasbinder says mohamed al—fayed may have also targeted vulnerable victims. i have had contact from a survivor who went to a school and it was a school for the deaf community, and i will be talking to her very soon. and so what was brought that's brought to my attention is that mr fayed, according to the survivor, you know, had a role in that school, be it a donation, be it whatever. he had access to vulnerable young women from that school who are from the deaf community. now, me hearing this as a survivor

advocate tells me that his tentacles went far and wide. the school told the bbc as far as it was aware, fayyad as it was aware, fayed did not have access to the school and they take safeguarding very seriously. harrods have previously said they are appalled by what happened under mohammed al fayed. the retailer launched an internal review last year to see whether anyone involved in any allegations is still working there. as yet, they have declined to say whether any action has been taken against any individual or when that review might be completed, and they urge any survivors to consider using their compensation scheme process. that process has been criticised by some as marking its own homework, and hundreds of women are also working with separate legal firms in claims against harrods. but damejasvinder has insisted despite being paid by harrods, her role is completely independent, just as it was when she was appointed in a similar role by the church of england. and if i look at the example of working as the independent survivor advocate with the church

of england, archbishops council funded that role. but i carried out that role with full independence, to the point that i would not allow anything to get in the way of me advocating for victims and survivors, and i was sacked. mohamed al—fayed's abuse extends beyond women he met through harrods. we already know about victims at fulham football club and other properties and businesses he owned. damejasvinder says she will speak to survivors regardless of how they met him. fayed died last summer and will never be held to account, but there is still some hope for some justice for those coming forward. ellie price, bbc news. the government is reviewing the role of physician and anaesthesia associates in england because of mounting concern about their use in the nhs. the doctors union, the british medical association has said they're being asked to perform tasks they are not supposed to do, but those in the jobs say the accusations are unfounded. our health editor hugh pym reports. physician associates work alongside doctors in hospital wards, in gp surgeries, and in a&e.

the role was created to help support doctors and improve patient access to trained health professionals. they have fewer years of training than a doctor, though it includes a relevant biomedical degree and then a two year masters. but some concerns have been raised about their role with patients. stephen is a pa who now runs a group representing the profession. the things that we care about are looking after patients and also taking the pressure off the vast majority of the medical workforce that is struggling right now. some doctors have said your profession raises safety concerns and it's not properly regulated. what do you say to them? i'd say they're fundamentally wrong. for 20 years we've done this now. we're very underrepresented in the statistics around safety incidents. we've worked very hard alongside our consultant colleagues to make sure that we practise safely. doctors created our role and doctors asked us to do it and doctors are the ones that

designed our curriculum for us to be able to do the things that we do. but over the last 12 months, the doctors union, the british medical association, says patients have been put at risk by pas. in one case, a coroner highlighted concerns about a hospital death and the role of a pa. what we've seen is physician associates undertaking roles that are above their training. patients are believing that they're seeing a doctor when they are not, and that's leading to some unsafe decisions and, very sadly, patient harm and even death. is there an element of doctors trying to protect their elevated status in the health world? i'm not sure that the medical profession has an elevated status, what we have is expertise. we're not trying to protect doctors, we're trying to protect patients. the health secretary acknowledges the debate has become toxic, but he hoped a review would take the heat out of the issue, as he hinted in a recent breakfast interview.

before we put the foot down on the accelerator to expand the number of roles, i think we also firstly need to take stock on where we are, dive deeply into some of the challenges that have been put to us by the medical profession about the deployment of these roles, because i need to assure myself, in order to assure the country that we've got the right people in the right place doing the right thing. both the bma and the physician associates welcomed the review, and with the government hoping to treble the number of pas in england to 10,000 over the next decade, the outcome of the review will be crucial for nhs workforce planning. hugh pym, bbc news. an inquest into the death of harshita brella, whose body was found in the boot of a car in east london, has been opened and ajourned. an initial post mortem examination suggested the 24—year—old was strangled. 0ur reporterjo black is in northampton for us. jo ,what did we hear today? the senior coronerfor

northamptonshire opened the inquest today and it was a short hearing at around two minutes. we know that police in northamptonshire believed that harshita brella was murdered in corby by her husband, pankaj lamba on the 10th of november and they say that the next day they believe he drove a silver vauxhall corsa 95 miles away to ilford in east london with her body in the boot. and we know that her body was discovered a few days later. they then believe he fled the country and there is an international manhunt under way to try and track him down. yesterday at northamptonshire police convey released cctv stills of the car that he used but also of him walking in the street in ilford and you consume wearing a hooded top with the hood up. they are hoping that there images willjog someone's memory and that someone may have interacted

with him and they urge people to get in touch. today the coroner said a forensic postmortem examination had given the minimally cause of death as manual strangulation which is pending toxicology and histology results. and then