recent flash floods were among the deadliest in spain's history, after a year's worth of rain fell in just a few hours. the owner of vauxhall has announced plans to close its van—making factory in luton, putting about 1,100 jobs at risk. the firm said rules imposed to speed up the transition to electric vehicles in the uk partly drove the decision. a uk ticket—holder has won the euromillions jackpot, scooping £177 million. it's the third—biggest prize ever seen here in the uk. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. you're watching bbc news. there have been calls for the immediate regulation of so—called "calming rooms" in special schools in the uk, after a bbc investigation revealed cctv showing autistic children being shoved

into padded rooms, restrained by the neck — or left alone, sitting in vomit. a police investigation into the footage, recorded at whitefield special school in north london between 2014 and 2017, ended this summer without any charges. the school says new leadership found the footage after the rooms had been shut, and shared it with the police. noel titherage has this report, which you may find upsetting. it's footage that's been described as jawdropping. videos obtained by the bbc show autistic pupils being abused and neglected inside so—called calming rooms at a special school. three years ago, we began investigating when 500 hours of cctv was discovered at whitefield school. now, we've obtained the footage revealing the reality of abuse in the rooms before they were shut. jamie went to whitefield school when he was 11. from being a happy, smiley boy,

wanting to go to school, to not wanting to go to school. i have just seen the footage, after all this time. you saw them open the door, pushjamie, just whack him in his back. he went flying on the floor, left in there, very confused, frustrated, knowing he's going to be in there for a long time. deborah says her son suffered his first ever epileptic episode after being placed in the rooms. a couple of times i had to go upstairs to the classrooms to take him out when his eyes were rolling. now, something had stressed him out. he'd been terribly stressed out for that to happen. it breaks my heart to know how he must be feeling, how he must have felt, and the effect it's had on him since. she says she can't understand how prosecutors have failed to charge anyone over the abuse. ijust think it's a cover—up from higher up, because i don't see how they could get away with this level of abuse of these children, and

no—one�*s accountable for it. the bbc has spoken to 17 of the 39 families affected. they say they've spent years waiting to hear the reality of what their children went through. many of the pupils were nonverbal. but in april we met david, a former pupil who's autistic, and was placed in the rooms for up to three hours at a time. david, how did that make you feel inside, being placed in the rooms? i was sweating, i was angry, i was upset and they did not listen to me. they was ignoring me. now we've uncovered the reality of the abuse. cctv shows pupils being pushed inside the calming rooms. sometimes staff employ pads used in rugby training. other pupils are left alone in distress while injuring themselves. but we can reveal that a three—year police investigation ended this summer without a single staff memberfacing charges, and we've also learned of other

failings across the uk. one autistic child was placed in this cage, while another pupil was pinned to a beanbag. this mp is calling for immediate regulation. quite moved, actually. it's not something you expect any child to be in. this is the sort of stuff that you just couldn't imagine would be going on, you know, at all, in any place, really. it should lead to change. there's no question about that now. government guidance only says that these rooms need to be used "appropriately". is that satisfactory? no. we've got to spell it out. the range of change has to be pretty profound now. clear rules around what cannot happen in calming rooms. and i think in design terms, what should a calming room look like? this is not how any child in britain should be treated. the government says it's looking at ways to strengthen guidance on how calming rooms are used. while the local authority, waltham forest, says it's offered counselling to families. the crown prosecution service declined to comment, while the met says it continues to conduct wider inquiries.

but parents of pupils like david say years have been wasted which could have been spent addressing the harm that's been caused to their children. what's happened in that whitefield school destroyed my son's future. calming room? it was a cell. but the only crime david has is special needs. noel titheridge, bbc news. breaking news now. the met police say six people have been arrested by counter—terrorism police as part of an investigation into the banned kurdistan workers party known as the pkk. four men aged 23, 27, 56 and 62, and two women aged 31 and 59, were arrested at separate addresses in dawn raids in london and remain in custody.

searches are taking place at eight addresses including the kurdish community centre in haringey, north london, where the force said the search operation would take up to two weeks. these details coming from the metropolitan police, six people arrested by counterterrorism police, as part of the investigation into the band pkk group, an address is rated at dawn, search is taking place, including at the kurdish community centre in haringey. and that operation could take up and that operation could take up to two weeks. on friday, british mps will vote on a bill which, if passed, would legalise assisted dying in england and wales. under the proposals, terminally ill adults expected to die within six months could seek help to end their lives, if two doctors and a high courtjudge approve.

mps last voted on the issue in 2015. since then, similar legislation has been introduced in several countries around the world. our medical editor fergus walsh has been taking a look. more than 300 million people around the world live in countries which have legalised assisted dying. the legislation proposed for england and wales is based on the system operating in oregon in the united states since 1997. there, it's open to terminally ill, mentally competent adults expected to die within six months, and must be signed off by two doctors. two—thirds of patients who have an assisted death have cancer, around one in ten have a neurological condition, and one in ten heart disease. here are some of their biggest concerns. nine in ten worry about loss of autonomy. two—thirds cite loss of dignity. and more than four in ten are worried about being a burden on family or friends.

around one in three of those prescribed a lethal dose don't go ahead with it. across the united states, assisted dying is now legal in 11 jurisdictions — including california and colorado, which introduced it in 2016, as well as newjersey and maine in 2019. canada introduced medical assistance in dying in 2016 — initially just for the terminally ill. in 2021, it was extended to those experiencing unbearable suffering from an irreversible illness or disability. it's due to be extended to those with a mental illness in three years. four in 100 of all deaths in canada are now medically assisted, compared to around one in 100 in oregon. next, to europe. in switzerland, assisted suicide has been lawful since 1942.

it's one of the few countries which allows foreigners to have help to die, via organisations like dignitas in zurich. more than 500 britons have died at dignitas in the past two decades — a0 last year alone. the netherlands and belgium both legalised assisted dying more than 20 years ago, for patients experiencing unbearable suffering from an incurable illness — including mental—health issues. it has since been extended to children — the only european countries to allow this. most recently, spain and austria have legalised assisted dying for both terminal illness and intolerable suffering. finally, to australia and new zealand. in the past few years, voluntary assisted dying has become legal across most parts of australia. in new zealand, patients must be terminally ill, and expected to die within six months. in most australian states, that is extended to 12 months

for those with a neurodegenerative condition. in both countries, patients can take the lethal medication themselves, but in most cases it can also be administered by a doctor or nurse — also called euthanasia — usually via an intravenous injection. physician—assisted dying is also legal in belgium, the netherlands, luxembourg, spain, canada, and colombia. however, the assisted dying law proposed for england and wales would require the patient to self—administer the lethal dose. the uk's competition watchdog has found supermarket loyalty cards do offer genuine savings. the competition and markets authority looked at 50,000 products from stores like tesco�*s and sainsburys and found very little evidence that they were inflating prices to make deals look better.

consumer affairs journalist harry wollup explains why the watchdog decided to look into this. the cma realised there was a lack of trust around loyalty cards because in the last few years, most supermarkets have introduced what is known as dual pricing, you go to a shop and pick up a loaf and it has two separate prices, one "normal" price and one loyalty price which is invariably lower, and there was a sense that maybe the normal price was being inflated to make the discount or loyalty card price seemed cheaper, to encourage you to sign up to these cards. and it used to be on just a handful of items and now it is on a vast number of items across the huge majority of supermarkets. the question is, were consumers being ripped off and confused, and they have come back, having spent almost a year examining this, and said that consumers are not being ripped off, these are genuine savings.

but there are serious caveats attached to that. just talk us through what the other potential concerns are. it does slightly confuse consumers. consumer psychologists call something an anchor price, what is the normal price, for a pint of milk or a loaf of bread? if you have in your head that a loaf of bread is normally £1.20, for instance, then you go to the supermarkets and there are two prices, you get confused and you think, i am not sure what a loaf of bread should really cost and therefore you don't know if you're getting a good deal or not. the other thing is that these cards which have been proved that they do give you a discount, they can be very hard sign up to, if you don't have a smartphone, you have to hand over an e—mail and they are almost always app based and if you are young, you nearly always have to be 18, the idea of sending your kids to the end

of the road to get groceries for you, they cannot use a loyalty card, so they miss out on some of the savings so essentially vulnerable people without access to the internet and the youngsters, do not enjoy these discounts. there is a third thing, which the cma didn't go into much, which is why have all the supermarkets done this? the answer is the supermarkets want our data. we might be getting a discount on groceries, but in return, we are giving up vast amounts of data, which the supermarkets sell on to third parties, like the food manufacturers. they do not say that it is selling, they use the word "sharing", but you only have to look into the annual report of the supermarkets to realise that they are making millions every year from selling our data on to the big food companies. harry wallop. the amount that gamblers can place on a single online slots—bet will be capped at £5, or £2 for younger adults —

as part of a wider government overhaul to tackle gambling addiction. under the plans, companies including casinos and betting operators will also have to pay a share of their profits to help problem gamblers. our reporter poppyjeffery has the details. an estimated 2.5 million people in great britain have a problem with gambling, according to a recent survey. ryan myers was one of them. he took his own life in 2014, after running up massive debts. since then, his dad has campaigned for reform to uk gambling laws. he'd been in the betting shop all that sunday. he'd been on his way home. he'd gone into a betting shop to put his...try and get his money back, and his card had been declined. and i think that's when he realised that, yet again, he'd spent all his wages for that week. currently, licensed gambling operators are asked to make voluntary contributions towards a fund to tackle problem gambling —

with some paying as little as £1 a year. half of all the money generated will go to health—care services in england, scotland and wales, to help develop a comprehensive support and treatment system. 30% will go to prevention — including national public—health campaigns and training for frontline staff. and 20% will go towards gambling research, to help inform future policy and regulation. the government says it will also introduce stake limits for slot machines — capping prices per spin at £5 for adults over the age of 25, and £2 for 18—to—2li—year—olds. the proposals have been welcomed by ryan's dad. there's so many times where gamblers have turned around and said to people, "i think i've got an addiction," and theyjust turned around and said, "well, just stop." and people think it's that easy. so this is what we need this money for — this

is what we need this levy for — so that people can come forward and realise that it's not a stigma to admit you're a gambling addict. the betting & gambling council have supported the plans, but say... the proposed new laws will need to be debated and approved by parliament. peppyjeffery, bbc news. on that — let's now speak to will prochaska — leader of the coalition to end gambling ads. thank you for coming on the programme. what you make of these measures? i programme. what you make of these measures?— programme. what you make of these measures? i welcome them. the are these measures? i welcome them. they are a first _ these measures? i welcome them. they are a first step _ these measures? i welcome them. they are a first step in _ these measures? i welcome them. they are a first step in the - they are a first step in the right direction but these were the proposals of the last conservative government that the labour government are now on the ring, so i will come back, but when they reviewed it they were informed by the

gambling commission that are barely half a million people categorised as problem gamblers in the country, and enormous number but now it is said that the number is eight times higher so we have a public health epidemic of gambling harm in the uk, so we want these laws to be expedited as quickly as possible but what we really need to the government is to continue to take this as seriously as they should add to look at gambling legislation and review gambling.- look at gambling legislation and review gambling. what would that mean. _ and review gambling. what would that mean, what _ and review gambling. what would that mean, what changes - and review gambling. what would that mean, what changes would l that mean, what changes would you want to see on top of this? no there are three reasons for the changes. no there are three reasons for the changes-— the changes. the numbers are hiuher the changes. the numbers are higher than — the changes. the numbers are higher than they _ the changes. the numbers are higher than they thought - the changes. the numbers are higher than they thought they | higher than they thought they were so it is shocking, and we have heard that the dabbling industry is dead weight on the economy, and driving economic growth is a key mission of the government, and over 50% of the public would like to see all

gambling advertising ban, so thatis gambling advertising ban, so that is really one of the initial reforms we want the government to look at but we need to look at the foundation of gambling legislation which suggests that gambling is like any other pastime, a legitimate leisure pursuit, and it needs to reframe it as something that is dangerous, something that should be permitted but not promoted. there are a host of laws which would come out of that starting with a ban on gambling adverts.- that starting with a ban on gambling adverts. one thing --eole gambling adverts. one thing peeple might _ gambling adverts. one thing people might be _ gambling adverts. one thing people might be surprised . people might be surprised about, it is a big industry, lots of companies doing well and employing lots of people and employing lots of people and paying lots of tax. that is what the government wants. you said it is not a driver of growth. can you explain that? it is not because everything suggests, by a number of world—renowned economist, money spent on gambling doesn't get spent on gambling doesn't get spent anywhere else on the economy, the drivers of growth, so myth gambling is online, people putting money into your

website that is often hosted in malta, gibraltar orthe website that is often hosted in malta, gibraltar or the isle of man, so the tax and that is not seen and the supply chain is very thin, basically a website designed to glean money from people and it employs very few people. so, if we are to limit the expenditure on that, limit it on the most harmful products driving a harm, then we could see that money displeased into the wider economy, and it would have a greater and stronger effect for the treasury. so it was confusing to see lisa nandy saying that she wanted the gambling industry to thrive which is incoherent with the labour party manifesto of reducing harm, we cannot have thriving gambling industry and reduce harm at the same time. will prochaska, thank you forjoining us. the association of optometrists says one in four people are concerned

about someone they know driving with poor vision. our correspondent will vernon reports. he is the kingpin of our family — somebody you can always go to for advice. he was the biggest champion of my two children at every football match, netball match. one of life's genuinely lovely people. he was a really, really nice gentleman. emma is coming to terms with spending another christmas without her dad. jim was a fit 70—year—old who loved to cycle, but three and a half years ago, emma's dad was knocked off his bike. the injuries that dad had had to his brain were catastrophic. he never reacted to our voices, to anything that the consultants and the doctors were trying to do. and his life support was switched off five days later and, unfortunately, he passed away. the 82—year—old man who hit emma's dad had poor vision, and was unable to clearly see more than three metres in front of him. we're just so angry because he has chosen to

drive a car, having been told by the optician his eyesight was so poor he needed to have a follow—up appointment. he chose not to make that follow—up appointment, he chose to continue driving, knowing how bad his eyesight was. and that's something that — itjust makes me so angry because it shouldn't have happened. my dad should be here with us, still part of our family, and he's not. the driver of the car was later jailed for six months for causing death by careless driving, after pleading guilty. currently, there's no legal requirement for drivers to take an eye test — at any age. people with poor vision are expected to self—report when renewing their licence. campaigners say the rules — which date from 1937 — are dangerously out of date. so what are the family calling for now? how would you like to see the law changed? i truly believe that when you renew your licence at the age of 70, there should be a mandatory check on eyesight.

the eyesight checks when you are 70 are free, so it doesn't cost you any money to go and have your eyesight checked. for me, it shouldn't be a choice, it shouldn't be a tick—box exercise. it should be, you need to prove that your eyesight meets the minimum standards — the 20m that is required to legally drive in this country. and in new research published today, six in ten optometrists say they've seen a patient in the last month who continues to drive, despite their vision being below the legal standard. the association of optometrists is calling for the law to be changed, so that all drivers have their vision checked when they first apply for a driving licence, when renewing it, and checks every three years for those over 70. if you're at all worried about anybody — your mum, your dad, your brother, a friend, anybody — please, please, please encourage them to get an eyesight check. because it may well be absolutely fine, but if you're not sure, please get it checked. an appeal it's hoped that will be enough to prevent another family being left

bereft at christmas. will vernon, bbc news, hampshire. the premier league referee david coote is under investigation for his personal and professional conduct. the football association has announced a new probe. natalie perks has the latest. he announced a new probe. natalie perks has the latest.— perks has the latest. he is already suspended. - perks has the latest. he is already suspended. this . perks has the latest. he is i already suspended. this new story dates back to a matching 29, were coote at our leeds player and a game against west brom. the sun newspaper alleges that, the day before that match, he discussed giving this specific player card, with a fan, then allegedly message that fan after the match saying, i hope you back as discussed. the bbc has not verified the contents of the report in the sun newspaper, no

suggestion of any financial gain by coote, but the faa is investigating these very serious allegations as a matter of urgency. david coote has said that he refutes the allegations and whatever issues he had in his personal life never affected his decision—making on the field, he has always held the integrity of the game and the highest regard, refereed matches impartially, and to the best of my ability. previously a video emerged of mr coote making disparaging remarks about the then liverpool managerjuergen klopp, then photos were published of him allegedly snorting a white powder three a rolled up banknote. he was suspended following the stories. after the most recent allegations, the most recent allegations, the pgmol has said that his allegations will be investigated by the fa, the facts will be investigated, they adopt a zero tolerance approach to the code of

integrity signed by all match officials, and the pgmol board is committed to taking the appropriate action, should any breach of that code be proven. now the weather. hello again. we've had some torrential rain across southern parts of the country this morning, all courtesy of a developing storm, storm connell, so named by the dutch met service. it's continuing to pull away. gusty winds on its back edge. high pressure builds in behind it. so for many of us today, after a cold start, it's a fine day. a fair bit of sunshine around. a few showers peppering the east coast. we could just see some stubborn areas of fog, slow to clear in northern ireland. could linger all day. the rain continuing to move away from the southeast, but gusty winds following on behind into the southeastern quarter of the country. it's a chilly day. generally, temperatures 4—9 celsius, 1a in the channel islands. now, through this evening and overnight, storm connell continues to move away.

high pressure very much in charge of our weather. low pressure with weather fronts out towards the west, but with high pressure in charge overnight, things are going to be fairly quiet and also settled. and it's going to be a cold night with a widespread frost. we could see —5 or —6 celsius in scotland and with all the moisture and just light winds, that's a recipe for some mist and fog patches to form, so we'll have some mist and fog to start the day tomorrow. what you'll find is some of it will be quite dense in the southeast. most of it should lift, leaving a lot of dry weather, but out towards the west one of our weather fronts starts to make a bit of progress. so it's introducing some cloud, the odd shower and also strengthening winds before the rain comes in a bit later on. so then heading on from thursday into friday, the high pressure continues to drift away onto the near continent. that's allowing the weather fronts to make a bit more progress into the north and the west. the wind will pick up here as well, the cloud building with the rain coming in mist and fog to start. the day should lift

quite readily. and then for many southern, central and eastern parts of the country, we are looking at some sunny spells. temperatures ranging from 9 to about 13 celsius, north to south. moving in through the weekend, we have high pressure in the continent, low pressure out towards the atlantic. and we've also got this southerly wind or south—westerly component to it, dragging in milder conditions. so as we go through the weekend, all of us will see temperatures rise — most of us in double figures. there will still be some rain in the north and the west

live from london, this is bbc news. the lebanese prime minister says he hopes for a new page as a ceasefire begins. reports that hamas has said the group is committed to coordinating with any efforts for a

ceasefire in gaza. the spanish prime minister announces extra aid to reconstruct the valencia region after some of the deadliest floods in the country's history. and a uk ticket holder has one mark the euro millions jackpot. welcome to the programme. a ceasefire between israel and the lebanese militant group hezbollah has come into force, bringing a potential end to more than a year of fighting and aerial assaults that have left thousands dead and many more displaced. this is the live shot of the skyline over beirut, which has seen intense bombardment as israel tried to dismantle hezbollah. explosion. in the hours leading up to the deadline, there was no let—up

from the israeli military as it