here's why the ceo of the hospital told her they had their back. premarket loyalty schemes to offer genuine savings. confessed on bbc radio— the culprit on the mass kidnapping of garden gnomes in merseyside finally breaks the silence. before all that, it's time for the latest sports news with gavin. hi there, i need hi there, annita. another busy evening of action awaits in the champions league. liverpool have perhaps the tie of the round — they're up against the current holders real madrid. it's a huge week for arne slot�*s side — they're top of the table domestically and have a massive game this weekend against manchester city. before that, tonight, they take on a side they haven't beaten in eight attempts since 2009.

liverpool have won all four of their champions league games so far, a win later would see them move back to the top again. manchester city, real madrid dominated for a few years now, combined with liverpool, because liverpool was always up there with these two clubs. so it's a special week for us, especially because we in benoni, nearjohannes special these two clubs. so it's a special week for us, especially because we played twice at home. if you are at played twice at home. if you are at liverpool, you always play the liverpool, you always play the games, but these two are special games, but these two are special because three clubs have dominated because three clubs have dominated the league in europe for so many the league in europe for so many years recently, so that the special years recently, so that the special week to play. week to play. that match one of nine taking place, that match one of nine taking place, two early kicks—offs — two early kicks—offs — but later, aston villa but later, aston villa have the chance to the have the chance to the return to the top four. return to the top four. they face juventus. they face juventus. villa haven't won any of their last villa haven't won any of their last six games in all competitions. six games in all competitions. celtic face club brugge, celtic face club brugge, who beat villa last time out. who beat villa last time out. the rest of the games the rest of the games on your screen now — on your screen now — and you can follow it and you can follow it all on the bbc sport website. all on the bbc sport website. england are taking on south england are taking on south africa in the second africa in the second of their three match t—20 series of their three match t—20 series in benoni, nearjohannesburg, in benoni, nearjohannesburg, and having won the opener on sunday, and having won the opener on sunday,

in benoni, nearjohannesburg, they're looking to secure victory with a game to spare. the hosts won the toss and put england in to bat, but despite losing two early wickets, danni wyatt—hodge and nat sciver—brunt combined for a third wicket

and and that was no different a couple of seasons ago when they were out here. so, i'm sure it will produce some more thrilling games like we've seen and i'm sure both teams are looking forward to getting into it. former england propjoe marler has announced his retirement from professional rugby at the age of 34. marler had already recently called time on his international career. with harlequins he won two premiership titles and the european challenge cup. his last professional match will be quins�* premiership game against bristol bears at the stoop on friday. and it's been a thrilling day at the uk championship snooker with both matches going down to a final frame decider. in the last half hour, 2008 champion shaun murphy has booked his place in the quarterfinals, fending off a late come back from ding junhui. the magician held his nerve with a break of 65 in the decider. and it's been a thrilling day at the uk championship snooker and he'll meet barry

hawkins in the last eight after he came through 6—5 against david gilbert. hawkins, who knocked out reigning champion ronnie o'sullivan in round one, took the final two frames of the match to boost his chances of reaching the masters injanuary. we will keep you updated throughout the evening. see you soon. thanks very much, gavin. a public inquiry into the murders of seven babies at the countess of chester hospital has heard that the former chief executive once told the nurse who killed them, lucy letby, "i have your back". tony chambers said his language had been "clumsy" during a meeting in which he told her she would be getting an apology from doctors who'd raised concerns about her behaviour. he also discussed a meeting with letby�*s parents in december 2016, after she had a grievance upheld about her removal from duty in which herfather threatened him. in the recommendations from the grievance, one of those recommendations was that subject to the completion of all the inquiries and subject to you not being, if you like, called out in from these inquiries, the trust should begin to explore your return to the unit. and this was in effect a shorthand for that.

you were telling her in that meeting she was going back. no. isn't that what it means? no, i don't. i was saying that... this meeting is... it's worth reminding ourselves what this meeting was about. this was a meeting following the grievance where there had been, where the grievance had been upheld. and then... letby�*s family, it's fair to say, were very upset and very angry about how they felt she'd been treated unfairly by the trust. i'm prepared to accept that we had not been as open and honest with her at the time, as you can see when you read

the notes from this meeting. with her at the time. as you can see when you read the notes from this meeting, letby�*s father was very angry, he was making threats. he was making threats that would have just made an already difficult situation even worse by threatening gmc referrals for the doctors. he's threatening guns to my head and all sorts of things. let's speak to nick garnett — our correspondent who's been following the inquiry in liverpool. hello to you. tell us more about what tony chambers told the inquiry. tony chambers hasn't spoken publicly slips this is all happening. it's nine years since the murders were taking place at the counter stuffed chester hospital. at a big moment in

a big week —— countess of chester hospital. we have a director of nursing giving her opinions over what was happening. tomorrow, it was the head of the medical director, and today it was tony chambers. he was in effect the head of the whole hospital. he is where the buck stops, really. he sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims. he said he apologised for anything he might have done what she should have done differently. he said hospital management simply couldn't do anything about letby until there was enough evidence, and that for a long time, there wasn't. there is circumstantial evidence and there were suggestions that were something going on, but no firm evidence. it was two doctors at the centre of it all who are raising their concerns. they have told the inquiry earlier last week that they weren't being listened to. there was a long list of meetings and reviews and discussions taking place trying

to find what was at the heart of the problem where so many newborn babies were dying or collapsing on the wards. at one point, lucy letby was taken off clinical duties, then appealed against that and was told that she was going to return. mr chambers once told her, don't worry, we've got your back, and he admitted to the inquiry that this was clumsy language. at another point, her father turned up at the hospital to complain to mr chambers. mr chambers told mr lucy —— lucy letby that her resilience astounded him and said that mr letby was threatened metaphorical guns to his head. there were fractures between the relationships between nurses and doctors and the doctors and the medical body which was the hospital trust as well. he denied a claim

when it was put to him that he had tried to get rid of the two consultants at the heart of this and tried to get them moved on. he said that simply wasn't the case. he was just trying to find out what happened. what's interesting is the three people giving evidence this week — director of nursing, medical director and head of the hospital — have all left their jobs director and head of the hospital — have all left theirjobs at director and head of the hospital — have all left their jobs at the countess of chester and the two clinicians who brought forward the initial worry about lucy letby, they are still in theirjob.— are still in their “ob. nick, thank ou ve are still in their “ob. nick, thank you very much _ are still in theirjob. nick, thank you very much for _ are still in theirjob. nick, thank you very much for the _ are still in theirjob. nick, thank you very much for the update. l are still in theirjob. nick, thank . you very much for the update. let's return to our top story. more now on our top story — israel has issued a curfew to people seeking to return to southern lebanon following the agreement of a ceasefire between israel and hezbollah. thousands of displaced people in southern lebanon have been defying warnings from the israeli military and lebanese authorities telling them not to return to their homes yet meanwhile, president biden says the us — along with turkey, egypt, qatar, israel and others — will make another push to achieve a ceasefire in gaza in the coming days.

let's speak to alistair burt, former middle east minister under david cameron, who works with middle eastern conflict resolution group forward thinking. very good to have you with us. i want to get your thoughts, please, on the process for this 60—day c's father —— cease—fire. we've all seen the images, extremely keen to return south to their homes, even though in some cases, those homes they have found destroyed.— some cases, those homes they have found destroyed. well, like everyone else, i'm found destroyed. well, like everyone else. i'm here _ found destroyed. well, like everyone else, i'm here to _ found destroyed. well, like everyone else, i'm here to be _ found destroyed. well, like everyone else, i'm here to be wrong, - found destroyed. well, like everyone else, i'm here to be wrong, but - found destroyed. well, like everyone else, i'm here to be wrong, but my. else, i'm here to be wrong, but my senseis else, i'm here to be wrong, but my sense is that i think the prospects of this particular cease—fire holding are quite good. the reason for that is hezbollah is in no position itself to continue any sort of attacks against israel, it knows what the consequence is will be not only for itself, but on other areas

of lebanon as well. and israel is in a situation where it is decisively dealing with hezbollah leadership and a lot of its armaments, and therefore bringing this to a halt and being willing to continue the cease—fire is very much in its interests as well. it will want to persuade president trump that it can, follow through on the cease—fire, which it can withdrawal from southern lebanon. it is not israeli territory unlike the disputed issue of gaza. therefore, there is every reason for it to want to keep this to hold. there are bigger issues for israel to deal with in future, so i think there's every possibility that this will hold. if there are infractions, perhaps they will be minor. but it's in both their interests to keep this going. i in both their interests to keep this anoin. . in both their interests to keep this oiiin _ ., ., in both their interests to keep this anoin. ., ., ., in both their interests to keep this ioini. . ., ., ., ., in both their interests to keep this going. i want to go onto gaza and the west bank, _ going. i want to go onto gaza and the west bank, but _ going. i want to go onto gaza and the west bank, but briefly - going. i want to go onto gaza and| the west bank, but briefly looking at iran, what influence do you think

iran might bring to bear at this point? will be encouraging hezbollah, do you think, to stick to the terms of this cease—fire? i think the last few months have made a significant difference to the position of iran. they've seen hezbollah and hamas that they previously supported being heavily impacted. this probably difficult getting arms supplies through to syria. that's always been a regular target of israel, but perhaps when the determination now. iran has been hit itself and will worry that it's in no position either to continue to risk further attacks from israel itself or ask other people to do it. iran is also conducting its own diplomatic exercises in the region. it's being received by saudi arabia, by the uae. if there is to be a future in the middle east, it will

encompass a different iran. just maybe, this might be the first tentative step toward something like that. i’m tentative step toward something like that. �* , , ., ., that. i'm 'ust seeing a comment from the that. i'm just seeing a comment from the united nations— that. i'm just seeing a comment from the united nations boss, _ that. i'm just seeing a comment from the united nations boss, antonio - the united nations boss, antonio guterres, saying this is the first ray of hope in the conflicts, important that besides perspective. does that ray of hope extend to the gaza situation and the west bank? what's your thinking on israel's next steps? we've heard very clearly from the white house, from president biden, that he is as of today making another diplomatic push to see if some sort of deal can be brokered there as well. i some sort of deal can be brokered there as well.— there as well. i think this is where my optimism _ there as well. i think this is where my optimism is — there as well. i think this is where my optimism is slightly _ there as well. i think this is where | my optimism is slightly tempered. there as well. i think this is where i my optimism is slightly tempered. i don't think there's an easy read across from lebanon to gaza. the situations are very different. what israel is saying to do is what it's very different from lebanon, and

much more difficult to achieve. i am not sure there is an easy read to say if one thing can be done, so can another. hamas of course is still holding the hostages, which it should release as soon as possible. that will only be done in terms of some deal on prisoners. there is enough, we already know, of talks between them. but it takes a positive determination to say this is what they will do. hamas has said it looked favourably on the hezbollah deal, but again, hamas leadership has been destroyed by israel. its capability on the ground is still there. israel want to make sure that it continues operations, but it should also know there is no military solution. it has to be a political solution, and perhaps again, the fact that there's a cease—fire and a political agreement made with hezbollah and the government of lebanon might persuade them there are opportunities going

forward. �* , . �* them there are opportunities going forward. ~ , ., �* ., ,, . ., forward. alistair burt, i appreciate our time forward. alistair burt, i appreciate your time this _ forward. alistair burt, i appreciate your time this evening. _ an exhumation has been carried out at a cemetery in county monaghan in ireland by the group set up to find the remains of the disappeared — the people who were abducted, murdered and secretly buried during the troubles in northern ireland. the independent commission for the location of victims�* remains said it received information about suspicious activity during the 1970s at a grave in the cemetery. our correspondent charlotte gallagher is at the scene in monaghan for us. they finished this dig in this graveyard here in this very isolated village of angela, and the grave is just a little bit further back there. it's a family plot, and there are meant to be the remains of five people inside that plot. now, dna and forensic investigation will be done to find out if there is another person inside that plot and if that person isjoe lynskey. now, joe lynskey was a monk in belfast, a former monk, and then he became a member

of the ira, and he was murdered as part of a bitter internal feud. now, he disappeared in 1972, and there's been no trace of him ever since. the republicans have admitted he was murdered. admitted he was murdered — he was kidnapped, murdered and secretly buried — and there's been this huge search for his remains ever since. now, of course, every time one of these searches takes place for part of the disappeared, it's really horrible. it's really horrible, it's very stressful for the family who just want answers. it's a very emotional day. it's a mixed feeling. because we have to wait so long on an answer i don't know if it isjoe. i'm just praying and hopeful that it is. and that's a mixture

of how you feel. a review of supermarket loyalty cards has found that they do offer genuine savings, but aren't always the cheapest option. following a review by the competition and markets authority, the watchdog said there was also �*room for improvement�* on accessibility — with more being done to help people without smartphones. hey, hope you saved a few quid on that lot with co—op member prices! loyalty cards — they�*re the name of the game in the supermarket aisles. it�*d be daft not to. and it usually works like this. you get a cheaper price if you�*re a member, a higher one if you�*re not. but are these deals as good as they sound? we have heard from consumers that they do feel a bit wary about these prices, and they worry that they might have been manipulated in some way. we haven't found a systemic problem that suggests that's the case. so i'm hoping that that reassures shoppers that they can have a bit more trust and confidence in the promotions that they see. the cma looked at around 50,000 grocery items on a loyalty price promotion, and found that more than 90% offer genuine savings. that�*s despite more than half

of people they surveyed thinking the usual prices of items are raised to make loyalty deals look better. the research found products with loyalty prices saved up to 25%. but the regulator also found that loyalty prices aren�*t always the cheapest option. they took a sample of a29 branded products with a loyalty price, and found that 61 identical items were available at a lower price at other supermarkets. the message is it always pays to shop around to make sure you�*re getting the best deal. it�*s called the more card, but i�*m paying less. the regulator, though, is now writing to supermarkets that use loyalty pricing to make sure all promotions comply with the rules, and it says some could do more to make sure customers are able to access these increasingly popular schemes. clubcard accepted. i got the power! emma simpson, bbc news.

let�*s speak to oli townsend, who is the assistant deals editor at money saving expert. it's it�*s interesting to hear that many shoppers still don�*t trust that the officers they are seeing are cheap enough. we�*ve all been told to be a little bit sceptical, which i suppose isn�*t a bad way to operate. certainly not. if you�*re going to shop at a store anyway, it�*s worth joining the loyalty scheme, but don�*t be loyal. this is the key thing to remember. loyalty is a big marketing tactic from retailers that they used to try to stop us shopping around. if you get hot, you could miss out on those better offers that could be elsewhere. loyalty supermarket schemes have improved over recent years. they used to be points based and in reality, the points based and in reality, the points equal pennies. it�*s prices that are far more important and

where loyalty schemes have become more valuable, as with the hidden discounts. if they want to take advantage of the discount. if you are ok with that, the savings can be decent, but don�*tjust assume because something is on offer, it�*s going to be a great deal. is on offer, it's going to be a great deal-— is on offer, it's going to be a ireat deal. ~ ., ., ., ., great deal. we all have a bargain, es-eciall great deal. we all have a bargain, especially coming _ great deal. we all have a bargain, especially coming up _ great deal. we all have a bargain, especially coming up to _ especially coming up to christmas, and what�*s your advice therefore apart from don�*t get caught in the loyalty trap? what other key pieces of advice would you give to us as consumers? i of advice would you give to us as consumers?— of advice would you give to us as consumers? ~ �*, ., ., consumers? i think it's always about com iairin consumers? i think it's always about comparing prices- — consumers? i think it's always about comparing prices. you _ consumers? i think it's always about comparing prices. you can _ consumers? i think it's always about comparing prices. you can do - consumers? i think it's always about comparing prices. you can do that i comparing prices. you can do that with supermarkets. there are sites like trolley where you can see if you�*re offered a deal through your loyalty scheme. you can do that

through any shops as well. there price spikes by google shopping. use those to find out what the cheapest prices are on the day. i think it�*s also about not getting caught up in the hype as well, especially with black friday coming up. you see all the marketing messages, but not every deal is going to be good. i think it�*s a case of sticking to your budget. don�*tjust buy something if it�*s on sale. it�*s really not saving it all. something if it's on sale. it's really not saving it all.- something if it's on sale. it's really not saving it all. oli, thank ou ve really not saving it all. oli, thank you very much — really not saving it all. oli, thank you very much for _ really not saving it all. oli, thank you very much for your— really not saving it all. oli, thank you very much for your time. - a rather whimsical story now. the bbc has helped to solve a mystery that it first reported nearly 50 years ago — the curious case of the missing gnomes. back in 1976, the garden ornaments were being abducted and held to ransom in the merseyside town of formby, in the north west of england. alison freeman has the story.

the first victims were the tinnion family. it was a mystery that gripped the nation. gnomes nicked from gardens in formby in 1977. hey, look, the gnome's been nicked! the bbc�*s nationwide programme reported how the tinnion family�*s cherished gnome fred was shockingly wrenched from his concrete base, leaving only his boots behind. but instead of a case of theft, what transpired was a gnome napping racket with demands made for money in return for these garden guardians. the ransom note that dropped on the tinnion family�*s mat read... your gnome has 72 hours to live. "your gnome has 72 hours to live." "unless you're up £0.25 and leave at the car park at safeways nearthe bowling green, then..." "then go away and await further instructions." -

"this is no hoax." mrs cooper, who lived round the corner, had two gnomes napped from her garden. what was on your ransom note, then? 0h, "if you want to see your gnomes again, "put £0.25 under the "put £0.25 under the roundabout in the park. "and this is no hoax." "and this is no hoax." despite the police launching despite the police launching an investigation at the time, an investigation at the time, the perpetrator remained at large the perpetrator remained at large for almost five decades for almost five decades untilfinally this week, a lead — untilfinally this week, a lead — radio two dj vernon kay, radio two dj vernon kay, had revisited the story had revisited the story on his show and received on his show and received a voice note from a a voice note from a listener called jenny. listener called jenny. i know that culprit. i know that culprit. he is in fact my cousin, and he he is in fact my cousin, and he tells that story most boxing days. tells that story most boxing days. known only as arthur, known only as arthur, he made his confession. he made his confession. were you and your brother were you and your brother behind the formby gnome behind the formby gnome kidnappings of 1977? kidnappings of 1977? i'm afraid to say that is true. i'm afraid to say that is true. 0h! 0h!

he laughs

has also presented news news and has also presented the news at 6 and ten. this year, she fronted several election debates and is a regular recognisable voice on radio four today programme. —— regular recognisable voice on radio fourtoday programme. —— radio regular recognisable voice on radio four today programme. —— radio four. do you stay here with us on bbc news. ben brown is up next. thanks for your company. hello. for many parts of the uk, wednesday was a bright and sunny day, but it was cold for many of us — some sparkling visibility here in scotland. for others, though, flooding continued to be of concern, particularly in the passage of this area of low pressure. storm conall, named by the authorities in the netherlands,

where gusts of wind could reach 80 miles an hour, bringing some disruption. for us, it brought some quite heavy rain across southern coastal counties of england. across the flood—hit midlands, there was less rain from that — about 10—12mm — and so the flooding across the midlands didn�*t really worsen. and i�*m pleased to say the severe flood warning that we did have around northampton has now lifted. these flood warnings in central southern england, they were new warnings as a result of the passage of storm conall. but over the next few days, this area of high pressure is going to keep many of the weather fronts at bay from the midlands and central southern england, and so there�*s going to be time for those flood waters to ebb away. there will be a significant reduction in the number of flood warnings over the next couple of days. now, overnight tonight, we�*ve got clear skies, a widespread frost in the forecast, temperatures —1 to —8 celsius. and given there�*ll be some seepage coming off those wet fields onto roads, we could have icy stretches just about anywhere to start the day thursday — as well as that, some dense patches of fog, particularly running up

through the severn valley. i think as we go on through the rest of the day, most areas will have a dry day with plenty of sunshine once we�*ve lost the early morning mist and fog. the breeze picks up in northern ireland, and here, we�*ll start to see some rain moving in through the afternoon. to see some rain moving ten degrees in northern ireland — to see some rain moving it�*ll be one of the warmest places in the country. otherwise, it�*s another cold day, with temperatures typically about 4—6 celsius — well below average. heading into friday, well, we should have a lot of dry weather for east wales, much of england and eastern areas of scotland, with some sunny spells around after a cool—ish start to the day with a few patches of frost. in the west, though, we�*ll start to get increasingly mild air moving in. the threat of some rain, yes, but 13 degrees in northern ireland, temperatures not too far off that in stornoway. and into the weekend that milder air will push and into the weekend, that milder air will push across the whole of the uk.

we do have weather fronts on the way, though, particularly for the second half of the weekend. that said, on saturday, with brisk south—westerly winds, expect drizzle around western coasts and hills, some hill fog patches, more general rain, and mild weatherfor sunday.

today at six. the man who ran the hospital where lucy letby murdered seven babies speaks publically for the first time about his role. tony chambers told the public inquiry he�*d used clumsy language, after saying to the nurse, "don�*t worry, we�*ve got your back." our other main story.

thousands of displaced people make a slowjourney home, as a ceasefire begins in lebanon. many may have little to return to, after more than a year of war. supermarket loyalty cards — a review finds they do bring genuine savings, but we should still shop around. how many loyalty cards you do have? oh, wow. one. probably about six. that�*s a lot. don't use them although. formby has been rocked by a crime wave that has the police baffled and local residents aghast. and, a confession to a crime spree, 50 years on, live on the radio. and coming up on bbc news. the biggest test of a so far almost blemish—free season. liverpool welcome real madrid to anfield, hoping to keep their 100% record in the champions league.