labour's biggest union backer, unite, applies to the high court to try to overturn the cut in winter fuel payments. continuing the bbc�*s focus on protecting yourself from scams, i will be explaining the rise in facility takeover fraud, when criminals hack into your personal accounts. in sport, top of the league in europe — liverpool continue their flawless start in the champions league, with a first win over real madrid since 2009, on a pulsating night at anfield. and the former mp, the paralympian and the ten—year—old fundraiser joining forces to front a campaign for better prosthetics on the nhs. good morning. it is a cold and frosty start today. there is also some fog around which will be slow to clear. for many it will be dry with sunny spells. they cloud, the

wind strengthening, and rain in the west later. details shortly. —— thicker cloud. good morning. it's thursday, 28th november. our main story. the metropolitan police says it is investigating more than five people who may have assisted or facilitated mohamed al fayed 5 sexual offences. the force launched a new investigation after 90 alleged victims came forward, following a bbc documentary that revealed the extent of al fayed's predatory behaviour. the current owners of harrods said they wholeheartedly supported the police investigation, and urged people to engage with it. our correspondent, ellie price, has more. mohamed al fayed died last year. he never faced any criminal charges. now, more than five people who may have assisted orfacilitated him are being investigated by the met police. while al fayed is no longer alive to face prosecution, we are determined to bring anyone who is suspected to have played a part in his offending tojustice.

this investigation will look at what role those individuals may have played in facilitating or enabling his offending, and what opportunities they had to protect victims from his horrendous abuse. i went back to harrods about a year ago, and i knew if i could walk through and come out the other side, i'd be in a good place to be talking to you. the bbc documentary, which uncovered allegations of rape and sexual assault, was released two months ago. since then, more than 90 women have come forward to the police. the timescale for their claims of abuse is between 1977 and 2014, with the youngest victim a 13—year—old. the met police isn'tjust looking at new allegations, but also looking back at old ones, where no charges were brought against mohamed al fayed. the force says it has already looked at 50,000 pages of evidence from those previous investigations, and it's launched a review about what was missed, and why. 21 alleged victims had already

contacted the met in the years before the documentary. earlier this month, the force referred itself to the independent office for police conduct, about two cases it investigated in 2008 and 2013. again, no charges were brought. harrods�* new owners have been investigating since last year whether any current members of staff were involved. it's declined to give details of whether any action has been taken against any individual, or when that review might be completed, but it said it wholeheartedly supported the met police's investigation, and had an open, direct and ongoing line of communication with the met for the benefit of the survivors. ellie price, bbc news. the time now is four minutes past six. naga has the rest of the news. thanks, charlie. tributes are being paid to liz hatton, the teenage photographer who managed to complete many of her professional dreams while undergoing treatment for terminal cancer. liz died yesterday, aged 17, but spent the final months

of her life taking portraits of top models, celebrities and royals, after her mother shared a bucket list of her wishes online. at one event she met the princess of wales, who also had cancer. catherine described her as inspirational. 0ur reporterjoe inwood looks back at her life. it's always been my happy place, photography. when i get behind the camera it's a lot easier to ignore what's going on with the rest of my body. when she was told she had terminal cancer, rare, aggressive, called desmoplastic small round cell tumour, liz hatton decided she would spend her final months doing things she loved. liz loved taking photographs and we have tried, as hard as we can, to make those dreams come true for her. she only has a very short time to live, and as a parent all you want is your children's dreams to come true.

and they certainly did. a few weeks ago she got to lead a photo shoot at the studio of rankin... i'm rankin. ..one of britain's best—known photographers. it was just the latest in an extraordinary series of adventures for an extraordinary young woman. my mum said, why don't we put it out there for people to see, and see if they can help with it? and i told her, you can do what you want, because nobody is even going to look at it, never mind respond. but i think it's fair to say that i have eaten my words. liz has photographed at london fashion week, at a film premiere, and an investiture at windsor castle, which came with an added surprise. in walked the prince and princess and it was certainly not what any of us were expecting. the princess of wales, who has also had cancer this year, described liz as a talented young photographer whose creativity

and strength "has inspired us both". the kindness of complete strangers has given her the most wonderful, you know, couple of months to cram in more things than most people do in a whole lifetime. people did want things to happen for me. they did want a good thing to happen. i couldn't be more proud of what she's doing. - she's always achieved everything that she wanted to achieve. - announcing her death on social media, her mum said she remained determined to the last — "no—one could have fought harder for life than she did." she also asked people to share their favourite of liz's photographs on social media, something many have been doing. everyone leaning towards me a little bit. i think having cancer has

actually brought our family closer together. there'd be times in the past where i didn't necessarily appreciate the things that my parents do for me. and now, i can say hand on heart that they would do anything for me. liz hatton, who has died at the age of 17. labour's biggest union backer, unite, has applied to the high court to try to overturn the cut in winter fuel payments. the union is asking for an urgent judicial review of the government 5 decision to restrict the benefit to only the poorest pensioners. iain watson reports. juliette is gathering winter fuel. she's in her 70s and lives alone in a northamptonshire village, and she intends to take the government to court. i feel quite angry about what's happened. she used to vote labour.

she's nowjoined the greens. but she says she was better off under the last government. the current government has successfully pushed more people to apply for pension credit. but becausejuliette gets a modest private pension, she doesn't qualify, so loses out on her winter fuel payment. last year, when we had a conservative government, i actually received £500, which was the winter fuel allowance, plus a cost of living payment. and this year i won't get anything. the threshold for pension credit is too low and you have to literally be on the breadline. juliette is one of unite�*s nearly 200,000 retired members, and the union has now applied to the high court for an urgent review of the government's policy. what is it going to cost in terms of illness? what it's going to cost in terms of death. what i'd like the court to do is them to see what we're saying, that if the proper impact assessment was not done, then actually,

they need to go back to the beginning, and in the interim, they need to pay the winter fuel allowance for this year. but there is no guarantee the legal action will succeed. but what it does do is pile pressure once again on ministers to justify a controversial policy as winter approaches. save the winter fuel! the government has already faced protests. the department for work and pensions estimated that the policy could push 50,000 pensioners into relative poverty, though this may reduce as more people claim pension credit. the government won't comment on legal action, but a spokesman told the bbc... labour say they have to make difficult decisions.

so, too will some of the ten million pensioners who lose their annual fuel payment this winter. ian watson, bbc news. former prime minister david cameron has backed moves to legalise assisted dying for some terminally ill adults in england. lord cameron had previously opposed a change to the law, but now says he believes there are sufficient safeguards to protect the vulnerable. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffman is in westminster. good morning. it has been so interesting ahead of this vote in terms of how people are assessing how they feel and what they are considering, and there is some real consideration going into how they will vote? . �* , ., ., will vote? that's right, naga. the crucial reason _ will vote? that's right, naga. the crucial reason for _ will vote? that's right, naga. the crucial reason for that _ will vote? that's right, naga. the crucial reason for that is - will vote? that's right, naga. the crucial reason for that is in - will vote? that's right, naga. the crucial reason for that is in this i crucial reason for that is in this huge parliamentary vote tomorrow, mps will have a free vote. that means they won't have the usual thing where they are told what the party line in as —— and they can decide whether to toe the line or defiant. it is completely up to

them. many of them are looking for guidance from more senior, more experienced politicians. and perhaps an example here is david cameron, the former prime minister, who has written in the times this morning saying that while he has previously opposed the concept of assisted dying, he believes there are enough safeguards, sufficient safeguards, to prevent vulnerable people being pressured into hastening their own deaths. worth noting though that we have heard from four other former prime ministers who oppose these measures, gordon brown, boris johnson, theresa may and liz truss. we will find out who mps are listening to tomorrow.- we will find out who mps are listening to tomorrow. a new way of treating serious asthma and copd attacks has been described as a game—changer by researchers. a recent study says offering patients an injection, which targets white blood cells to reduce lung inflammation, is more effective than the current care of steroid tablets and would cut the need for further treatment by 30%.

voters in the republic of ireland head to the polls tomorrow, in a general election tipped by many to be tightly contested. pressures around housing, immigration and public services have dominated the campaign. the outgoing government, made up of a coalition between fianna fail and fine gael, has already ruled out a partnership with the nearest opposition party sinn fein. net migration figures will be published later and are expected to show a fall in the difference between people arriving and leaving the uk. an extra 685,000 migrants came to the country last year, adding to political pressure for further immigration controls. last night, the conservative leader kemi badenoch said she wanted a strict cap on visas. 0ur political correspondent tom symonds reports. a new government, a new approach. on tuesday, the asylum seekers were moved off the bibby stockholm, moored in portland, dorset. the cost of the vessel is ridiculous, one home office source said. but only around 15% of migrants

are asylum seekers. today's figures count everyone coming into the uk, and subtract everyone leaving, to produce a headline numberfor net migration. in 2023, 685,000 more people came in than left. less than 2022, but not much less. we've got people coming on work visas in highly paid jobs all the way down to the care sector. you've got people coming in as family members of british citizens and as asylum seekers and refugees. and so, actually the impacts of migration often depend more on the composition, who is coming, than the simple number of how many people are coming. the conservatives have restricted foreign students and care workers from bringing in family members, and increased the amount you need to come to britain. last night the new party leader, kemi badenoch, said it would push down today's net migration number. this is because of the changes

we made in the last year of the conservative government. the figures we saw for 2023 were astonishing. they highlighted a big problem we must be honest about. even if we see a decline in tomorrow's data, the fact is immigration, both legal and illegal, is too high. and that's the current political consensus, hardened by the small boats. the conservatives would cap the number of visas and possibly pull out of the european human rights convention, used to prevent some asylum claims being rejected. this morning, the government announced tougher penalties for employers who illegally hire overseas workers. and in a recent speech, the prime minister again promised to smash the people smuggling gangs by treating them like terrorists. no more gimmicks, no more gesture politics, no more irresponsible, undeliverable promises that almost by design,

seek conflict with other countries. in the end, the government believes controlling immigration is not a challenge the uk can face alone. tom symonds, bbc news, westminster. those are the main stories. 6:15am. 0ne those are the main stories. 6:15am. one other story. a ukrainian swimmer has set a new freediving world record, plunging more than 82 feet deep. -- 82 —— 82 metres. it took kateryna sadurska just over three minutes to complete the dive to around 270 feet, beating her previous record by more than two metres. the dive marks her sixth world record, solidifying her position as the best in the world in the discipline. i cannot imagine how it would feel down there. what an impressive

woman. remarkably calm as she was making her way back to the surface. we will continue with the theme of calm. carol, that is rather serene behind you. good morning. behind you. good morninu. ., ., ., , good morning. good morning. naga is riuht. good morning. good morning. naga is riht. it good morning. good morning. naga is riuht. it is good morning. good morning. naga is right- it is a — good morning. good morning. naga is right. it is a serene _ good morning. good morning. naga is right. it is a serene start _ good morning. good morning. naga is right. it is a serene start to _ good morning. good morning. naga is right. it is a serene start to the - right. it is a serene start to the day. it is a cold one though if you haven't yet ventured out. we have got temperatures run to —9 in braemar, —6 in edinburgh, freezing in cardiff. st mary's and the isles of scilly sticks out at 11 degrees. a 20 degrees difference in temperature. widely this morning it is cold, it is frosty, and there is the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. as well as that we are looking at some fog, some of which is dense. it will be slow to clear. when it does we will see a fair bit of sunshine. the reason it is not as cold in the south—west is because we have more cloud and also some rain.

you could run into fog anywhere from somerset, east midlands, west london, all the through east wales into cheshire. also in northern ireland and around the glasgow area. and in east anglia this morning there is quite a bit of low cloud with some fog mixed in. some of the fog will lingerfor much with some fog mixed in. some of the fog will linger for much of the day but most should lift by lunchtime. then a lot of dry weather, fair bit of sunshine. a fairly weak weather front, so we will have patchy rain across wales and the south—west. through the day it will pep up across northern ireland and western scotland. laterwe across northern ireland and western scotland. later we will see some fog in lincolnshire across to east anglia. these are the maximum temperatures today. four in glasgow, six in london, but ten in belfast. this evening and overnight mist and fog patches reform. some frost in eastern areas. high pressure keeping

the weather fronts at bay in the north and west and it will be quite windy, especially in western areas. thank you. a former mp, a paralympian and a ten—year—old fundraiser are fronting a campaign for better prosthetics on the nhs in england. lord craig mackinlay, richard whitehead and tony hudgell were inspired to team up after sharing their own experiences of limb loss. earlier this month they met with the health secretary to discuss improving the quality and access to prosthetics and ways to reduce waiting times. 0ur reporterjohn maguire has more. the refusal to allow their physical disabilities to prevent them living their lives to the full is inspirational, and their campaign to improve access to prosthetics is hoping to make a real difference. previously an mp, lord mackinlay contracted sepsis last year. his hands and feet were amputated, and after extensive physiotherapy, using state of the art prosthetics, he returned to the house of commons to unanimous applause,

a very rare thing in the chamber. he told the health secretary, wes streeting, at a meeting earlier this month that decent prosthetics are about so much more than mobility. he listened intently and i think he's going to go away and look very carefully at what nhs england should be providing to those requiring a prosthetic. notjust because of the kit, it's how it then helps people get back to work, helps their mental health, and to feel like whole human beings again. three, two, one... ..go, tony, go! tony hudgell has done more to raise money and awareness in his ten years than many achieve in a lifetime. seriously assaulted by his birth parents as a baby, tony's legs were amputated. but, with the support of his adoptive parents, he has thrived. ain't no mountain high enough for him, as he proved in the lake district last year. along with his mum paula, they also met the health secretary.

hopefully we can really make some change within the prosthetic industry for nhs england and, you know, give everybody who needs a prosthetic limb of some sort the best they can have. the paralympic gold winning runner richard whitehead, is adding his voice, including campaigning for wider access to sports prosthetics. you should be encouraged to be more physically active, because it's notjust the physical side, but also the mental health side as well. as we know, if you're not able to get out your front door, it's notjust physically, also, those mental health aspects of society needs to be supported. they are under no illusion that nhs funding is tight, but remain determined to battle on to achieve their goals, something they are all too familiar with. john maguire, bbc news. at 08:30, we'll be joined here in the studio by tony, richard and lord mackinlay to hear more about their campaign for better prosthetics on the nhs.

let's take a look at today's papers. the front of the daily mirror focuses on a new investigation into the people it believes may have assisted or enabled mohamed al fayed 5 sexual offences. it reports that associates of the former harrods boss are being questioned by the metropolitan police after 90 alleged new victims came forward. the daily telegraph is reflecting on kemi badenoch�*s first major speech as conservative party leader, which included an admission that the last government got it wrong on immigration. we'll have more on this story with shadow home secretary chris philp at 06:50, and the minister for migration and citizenship, seema malhotra at 07:30. the guardian features some of the people returning to lebanon after a ceasefire between hezbollah and israel came into effect yesterday. the paper reports that motorways were packed with vehicles, despite warnings from the israeli military to avoid the area.

and finally, the times is looking at britain's approach to online dating. it says the number of people using dating apps has fallen for the first time and negative experiences could be the reason people are returning to dating in person. just in the papers, you know sometimes people say they are good with names but not faces, or good with names but not faces, or good with faces and not names. they can do one or the other. i am better with faces, terrible with names. if you are bad with faces, scientists at the university of bournemouth have been looking into this. they are saying that —— that face blindness should be termed a medical condition, a proven medical condition. the name is prosopagnosia. it affects at least 2% of people. symptoms include not

being able to spot a person in a crowd, and avoidance of using a person's name for fear of getting it wrong. they say it is a known condition. they say it should actually be a medical condition, as opposed tojust a actually be a medical condition, as opposed to just a trade. they studied 300 people who had the disorder from studied 300 people who had the disorderfrom birth. and they say studied 300 people who had the disorder from birth. and they say it should be classified like dyspraxia or dyslexia like a proper condition, because it is a real thing that affects people pass lives. also, if you have something you can explain it, and stop people being offended. it also gets written off as, don't be so silly. anyway, there you go. prosopagnosia. there is a new word. 24 prosopagnosia. there is a new word. 2a minutes past six. a fifth of children in the uk aged between 8 and 17 have lied about their age in order to sign up for a social media account,

according to the online regulator 0fcom. the figure is unchanged for the last two years, despite technology companies introducing new restrictions. the 0nline safety act comes into force next year, giving 0fcom new powers to make sure social media platforms keep children safe online. our technology editor, zoe kleinman, has this report. i'm not sure what age i've put on my account, or if my age is true to that. at this school in glasgow these pupils are all aged under 16, and they all say it's easy to lie about your age on social media. i put in my actual birthday date and month, but when it gets to a year, i'lljust like scroll like ten years back. if you've got like a younger brother or sister, then something - could happen to them - and you would never know labout it because they think they're| talking to somebody their own age, but they very much aren't. they don't ask for id, they don't ask for anything. so it's very easy. you just put it in a random birthday, you click on, that's it. the number of children who pretend they're older when they sign up for social media accounts has been revealed in a new report by 0fcom, the regulator responsible

for online safety in the uk. it found that over a fifth of eight to 17—year—olds pretend to be aged 18 or over, and estimates that over a third of children aged between eight and 15 say they're over 16. things that children really shouldn't be exposed to... 0fcom, which will be in charge of enforcing tighter rules next year as the 0nline safety act comes into force, said its findings were alarming. next year, we will be publishing rules and regulations that will require platforms to keep child users safe online. effective age assurance will be fundamental to that. if there is still one in five under eighteens pretending to be over 18 online this time next year, will you look to punish the tech companies? well, the powers that we have in the 0nline safety act are broad. they include the ability to fine tech firms up to 10% of their worldwide revenue. the big social networks won't let anyone have an account if they say they're aged under 13. but we found that by creating new email addresses, we could easily

set up accounts with instagram, tiktok, snapchat and x, claiming to be over 18, and we weren't asked to provide any proof. the only platform that asked for any identification at all was facebook. and we also found that none of the platforms asked for proof of age when we signed up, claiming to be 1a years old. meta, which owns instagram and facebook, believes app stores should carry out age verification, but says it's also rolling out tech designed to spot under 18 pretending to be adults. snapchat said teens with existing accounts aren't allowed to edit their age to appear older, and said it's exploring age verification solutions. tiktok also said it's developing tech that will verify age, and added that it already removes thousands of suspected underage accounts every day. x didn't respond. one solution being explored in australia is banning social media for under 16s entirely. another is giving parents more

control of children's accounts. but not everyone is convinced. social media is forever changing and it's became such a big part of our lifestyles, so i think it's more important to take the dangers off online. having total access to all of my accounts, like, i'd be extremely wary. i'd feel kind of like, on lockdown. i think i'd feel like it was a proper invasion of privacy if my mum was to go, like, through my phone. some parents clearly aren't - taking as much care and attention to their kids' well—being online because theyjust think it's a l safe place, but it's very much not a safe place. | parents aren't sure about it either. everyone deserves some degree of privacy and whatnot. even if you're a child, some some degree of privacy. complete involvement until they get to 16. i think they should be in charge of what they're doing online, what they're buying, who they're talking to, just monitoring all the sites. how much do you know about what your children are viewing online? would you like to see greater

protections for young people? we'd love to hear your thoughts — get in touch on what's app or email. we'll revisit this issue at 08:30 when zoe willjoin us here on the sofa. time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. hello, good morning from bbc london, i'm victoria hollins. ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters have been called to a fire on lyncroft gardens in west hampstead. it's affecting the roof of a house converted into flats. london fire brigade is asking people to avoid the area where possible the family of a man who was shot dead in peckham injuly have made an emotional appeal for information to help detectives solve his murder. jesse lloyd smith was 20 years old when he was shot outside his house. so far there have been five arrests in connection with the incident, including a 17—year—old boy who has

been charged withjesse s murder. his sister and god—mother have this message for anyone withholding information. please speak up. anything. i know it's scary. i know it's scary, but i'lljust ask them to maybe put themselves in our shoes. if not me, as a sister, as a mom, as a friend, as anyone. just to imagine what it would be like if it was your brother or your friend. penalty charge notices accruing thousands of pounds of fines have been sent to a woman 5 address in hillingdon for a vehicle she knows nothing about. when the first pcn arrived, hilary parker assumed it was a mistake and returned it to the sender — but then mutiple fines arrived sometimes up to four a day. that's why i had to write a spreadsheet. the only way to keep up with it and know which ones have i challenged, which ones haven't i challenged,

which ones have i photocopied, not photocopied and so on. but yeah, the dvla were actually really, really helpful. and they said that it's not that uncommon. so it's obviously something they're aware of. let's take a look at the tubes now. there's a good service on the tubes this morning jut minor delays on the metropolitan line. but the piccadilly line is part suspended between rayners lane and uxbridge now onto the weather with kirsty mccabe. hello there. good morning. it's a little bit chilly this morning with a few mist and fog patches around. but as we head through the day today, after that rather chilly start, we're looking at largely dry and bright day with sunny spells. we have got weather fronts waiting in the wings, but high pressure is still very much in control of our weather at the moment. and i mentioned the mist and fog. we do have some fog warnings out this morning, so quite poor visibility in places and a risk of ice as well because it's been cold enough for some freezing fog.

that should lift though by around lunchtime, most places looking largely fine and dry with some sunny spells. it is still on the cold side though, temperatures just 5 or 6 degrees as we go through the night. at best. as we go through the night tonight, a little bit more cloud out to the west, maybe again. a few mist and fog patches around, but not quite as many as the night just gone. temperatures will drop down to around c around 1 or 2 degrees. maybe a touch of frost for some of us then. and the outlook? well, we're holding on to a bit more sunshine for the next couple of days, but we are going to see something a little bit more unsettled through the weekend, but much milder as well. that's it — all the day's stories are on our website and there's the bbc news app too. we're back in half an hour. bye. hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. all this week we're shining a spotlight on scams —

and importantly how to protect yourself from fraudsters. ben's here with details about a rise in online account fraud this is one of the potentially most stressful of ones for people. yes, we're talking about what's known as facility takeover scams. the criminals hack your account, change your details to lock you out and then set about buying expensive things like phones, laptops, even hot tubs — usually to be resold online. or they can simply steal your personal data. there's been a massive 75% increase in reported incidents of this type of fraud since last year. those aged between 31 and 50 are the most frequently targeted. the fraudsters don't just use your details to buy things —

they can impersonate companies too and try to trick you into special offers and upgrades that don't exist. jon got in touch with us — he'd booked a holiday to new york using a popular booking app. the holiday itself did exist, but pretty soon he started getting rogue emails telling him to pay to upgrade — or he'd lose his hotel room. the message contained things like booking _ the message contained things like booking reference numbers and the date of _ booking reference numbers and the date of arrival and what room you are using — date of arrival and what room you are using. when i checked the booking — are using. when i checked the booking reference number and it wasn't _ booking reference number and it wasn't my— booking reference number and it wasn't my booking reference number, 'ust wasn't my booking reference number, just a _ wasn't my booking reference number, just a random made up one, but they did have _ just a random made up one, but they did have my— just a random made up one, but they did have my correct date of check—in and the _ did have my correct date of check—in and the room — did have my correct date of check—in and the room that i had and there were _ and the room that i had and there were things within that message that made _ were things within that message that made you _ were things within that message that made you feel, how do they know? they know — made you feel, how do they know? they know it is real but i'm talking to the _ they know it is real but i'm talking to the hotel in new york. scammers had somehow got intojon�*s account and were trying to get more money of out him. luckily he realised what was happening before it was too

late. so how do you stop criminals hacking your personal accounts online? firstly, never divulge private information in response to an email, text, letter or phone call unless you are certain that the request is from a genuine source. do not share online account information with friends, family or other people — so don't give out your login details. if a company which has your confidential information is hacked, make sure you change your password as soon as possible. and finally you'll remember we've been keeping a tally ofjust how much has been lost to scammers since midnight on monday — by 6 o'clock this morning — it stands at more than 9million. that's £2000 a minute on average, according to estimates by uk finance. thank you for all of your comments this week. 1469 00:34:52,215 --> 0