accident. policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration. it comes as the uk signs a deal with iraq on border security. as it battles to get people smuggling under control. a former soldier — who escaped from a london prison — has been found guilty of spying for iran. tv host gregg wallace is to step away from presenting masterchef while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated. are investigated. more thani million people more thani million people in ukraine are left in ukraine are left without power after russia without power after russia attacks the country's attacks the country's energy infrastructure. energy infrastructure. a "world first" — social a "world first" — social media ban for under 16s media ban for under 16s has been passed by the has been passed by the sir keir starmer, has accused australian senate. australian senate. hello and welcome to bbc news. hello and welcome to bbc news.

britain's prime minister,

the prime minister was speaking after the office for national statistics said uk net migration — hit a record — 906,000 in the 12 months tojune 2023. figures for the 12 months tojune this year show estimated net migration of 728,000 — down a fifth on that revised figure. net migration is the number of people arriving, minus the number of people leaving, so represents an increase to the population. our home editor mark easton has more on today's figures. so, today, the office for national statistics gave us its latest estimate of net migration — that's the impact that immigration is having on our population, the difference between people arriving and leaving — and the figure tojune this year was 728,000. that is one of the highest figures ever. we ought to make it clear that 97% of those people coming

actually came quite legally — they came on visas issued by the government — workers, students, dependents, those kind of things. but the big shock in today's figures was not actually that number, but this graph. and what this graph shows is what we now think net migration has been for each year going back roughly a decade. and what you can see is the high point there — that's the year tojune last year — was 906,000. but that number has been substantially revised upwards. if we show you this line — that's what we thought actually had been happening. we thought that that high point wasn't 906,000, it was 740,000 — so a difference of 166,000. that's 166,000 people living in the uk who, frankly, we didn't realise were here. give you some idea — that's equivalent to a town the size of gloucester. now, the 0ns says that they think these new figures

are more accurate, they say that the the numbers coming from ukraine actually were higher — 43,000 higher than they'd originally thought. they've got a better estimate of the number of people who move from short—term visas — not included in these statistics — onto long—term visas, and should be. so they say these numbers are more accurate. what does it all mean? well, it means the british population is a little bit bigger than we thought, it means a little bit more pressure on public services. it also means, i think, that the immigration statistics are a little bit less reliable than we'd thought. even today's numbers, the 0ns tell us, could be liable to revision in the future. so we'll have to be very, very careful with what we say about net migration and the statistics in future, i think. let's speak to our political correspondent hannah miller. the news conference was fascinating with sir keir starmer saying he did a double take when he saw the figures,

described as off the scale and said the previous government had been running in open borders policy. it was brutal. he was certainly attempting to lay the blame at the conservative party's door well he can —— while he can. these figures go up tojune this year, before the general election, so for keir starmer there is an opportunity to highlight what was going on under his predecessors. he doesn't want to ignore it as well, it's important to say that the labour government is aware that people have previously felt that politicians don't take concerns about immigration seriously enough. keir starmer said immigration is the issue that matters for some people. he will be aware that nigel farage, the leader of reform uk has been out and about today describing the figures as

horrendous, and the government want to be seen to be tackling it, so taking the opportunity today to called this press conference, lay the blame at the door of his predecessors and outline the beginnings of his plans to bring those numbers down. in his plans to bring those numbers down. in terms of illeual numbers down. in terms of illegal immigration, - numbers down. in terms of illegal immigration, he - numbers down. in terms ofi illegal immigration, he was giving details about a new deal that has been struck with iraq. tell me more about that. it’s tell me more about that. it's worth saying _ tell me more about that. it�*s worth saying that illegal immigration is a tiny fraction of the net migration figures that we have been talking about today but that's very much where the home secretary is focused today, she has been in a baghdad announcing this new deal with the iraq government that the uk government describes as a world first security arrangement. they say it represents the biggest operational package to tackle

serious organised crime and people smuggling between the two countries ever. it amounts to about £800,000 to train a border security in iraq and the kurdistan region to tackle drug smuggling and other types of serious organised crime, and it really speaks to the government's idea that they want to be working internationally to try to tackle these issues. they have not carried on with the plans to process asylum cases in rwanda that the conservative government had an keir starmer are clearly things the way through this is to work with international partners and crackdown on smuggling gangs that way. whether that actually works will be something we will see when we get more statistics in the coming months and coming years. for now, you can say it has all the conservatives' fault and this is what he is doing —— he can see, but we

don't know whether the measures he is taking will be enough —— you russia's president vladimir putin has threatened to fire his new hypersonic missiles at ukraine's capital kyiv. speaking in kazakhstan he also claimed it was �*practically impossible' for ukraine to produce a nuclear weapon, only a "dirty bomb". it comes as russia launched another huge attack on ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving more thani million people without power across the country. many of the sites targeted are in the west of the country, considered previously relatively safe. vladimir putin said russia launched 90 missiles and 100 drones, a significant ramping up since summer. michael bosserque is the senior fellow at the atlantic council and the former spokesman for the 0sce special monitoring mission in ukraine, we spoke earlier. this is totally the russian

playbook. we had that in the summer when heavy targeting put out electricity in many cities for hours every day including here in 0desa. we have had previous damning previous situations that had little publication where the sometimes as a journalist or commentator you hate to be long but i predicted this is what the russians would do, take advantage of vulnerability, bombing infrastructure in cold temperatures, putting people without light in the cold. irate without light in the cold. we are now into _ without light in the cold. we are now into the early parts of the winter, it's already cold. give me an idea of the impact this is having. i give me an idea of the impact this is having.— give me an idea of the impact this is having. i walked around for many hours _ this is having. i walked around for many hours today - this is having. i walked around | for many hours today including to the area near where i am standing that was bombed heavily to three days ago. you have literally huge apartment buildings with no windows, no lights, no heating. also, where

i am standing now, a lot of the children who are here are here because there is no heating or light in their apartments, their mothers are out working, trying to make the best of things. there's a lot of very, very damaged infrastructure all over the country that i've seen, whichjust over the country that i've seen, which just can't cope with these lower temperatures and we are going to get even lower in the next few days —— they are going to get even lower. ~ . , , . , ., lower. we have seen pictures of --eole lower. we have seen pictures of peeple holding _ lower. we have seen pictures of people holding thermometers, l people holding thermometers, showing how cold it is already, from various parts of the country stop in previous attacks on infrastructure, broadly how long does it take to actually get things going again? it to actually get things going auain? , , . ., again? it depends where and on the severity _ again? it depends where and on the severity of _ again? it depends where and on the severity of the _ again? it depends where and on the severity of the strikes - again? it depends where and on the severity of the strikes but i the severity of the strikes but they can be pretty quick stop after a day of being inconvenienced, things come back, but the situation right now, there are multiple consecutive strikes but the inability of the electricity grid workers to replace transformers, they are not

sitting on hardware shelves here in 0desa or kyiv. the other thing i'm told is that it is difficult to get licensed engineers for certain types of equipment to come and fix it. there's also the type of weaponry used including in the past few hours when you have cluster munitions that do extra damage and it takes a while for energy workers to come in to do repairs because of the threat. let me return to one of the lines i was referencing, vladimir putin has been talking in the last hour about a range of issues, he was talking about the state of the rouble, telling people not to panic. he warned again that these new missiles could be used to target key sites in kyiv. how nervous do you think authorities in kyiv are about that possibility? i authorities in kyiv are about that possibility?— that possibility? i 'ust returned i that possibility? i 'ust returned from i that possibility? ijust returned from kyiv i that possibility? ijust i returned from kyiv about that possibility? ijust - returned from kyiv about ten days ago and stay near the government quarter and it's pretty safe. they are very well protected. i think ukrainians have had so much thrown at them, different types of weaponry, that they are used to

these types of weapons. this was a very powerful, very fast missile and we had that in the past few hours, missiles travelling very fast, doing circuit routes, and not knowing where they're going to land, but when temperatures drop so far, with such damage to the heating and lighting, it's very difficult on them. a former british army soldier daniel khalife has been found guilty of spying for iran. khalife, who was 21 when he escaped prison while awaiting trial, collected information useful to an enemy and had a list of special forces soldiers. he was cleared of being responsible for a bomb hoax at his army barracks. this was daniel khalife on the morning of his escape, working in the kitchen at wandsworth prison. 15 minutes later he was driven out of the jail, clinging to the bottom of this food

delivery truck, suspended by a makeshift sling made of kitchen trousers. the driver, unaware of the stowaway underneath, made his way through london's early morning traffic. the lorry, with daniel khalife clinging on underneath, stopped at these lights and a motorist following behind, saw him drop to the ground, roll out, stand up, flick his fringe and casually walk off. it was the beginning of a massive nationwide manhunt. by five that afternoon, daniel khalife was six miles away in richmond, wearing shorts. checking the cctv cameras in mountain warehouse before stealing a baseball cap to hide his face. by the next morning, he'd got some cash from an unknown contact, which he used to buy more clothes in marks and spencer before reading about his escape in the newspapers. the huge publicity meant people started to notice him and call the police.

among them frank noon, who saw him in a cemetery in chiswick. i actually felt a bit sorry for him. i thought, well, as somebody who's most wanted, you don't look that sort of disarming. you don't look that kind of scary or anything. eventually, after three days on the run, daniel was spotted riding a stolen bike along this canal towpath and was arrested by a plain—clothed detective, who he promptly congratulated. the son of a british—iranian single mother, daniel khalife joined the army aged 16. 0ne fellow recruit, who didn't want to be identified, remembered him as an annoying attention—seeker. how cocky he was, how arrogant he came across, and just how he seemed to want the spotlight. he always wanted to seem like he was the attention point and that no—one else could take it. everyone aware of him as a person would know his name. less than a year afterjoining

the army, he was in a north london park, collecting £1,500 in a dog poo bag from iranian agents. two years afterjoining, he was in a smart hotel in istanbul. he told his handler he wanted to be trained in iran. i wanted to have some| training from you guys. and i think the best training for me is inside of iran. - i'm one of the most intelligent people. i i won an award. i am better- than everybody here. iam more intelligentj than everybody here. in a message, he said he would work for them for 25+ years. he sent the iranians pictures of communication equipment and official strategy documents that he upgraded to secret, but misspelled the word. he contacted m15 anonymously, saying he wanted to be a double agent, but instead they had him arrested. iran is one of a number of countries that present a real and present risk to our national security, so daniel khalife providing information to them absolutely compromises

our national security. particularly as he's a serving soldier? particularly as he was a soldier that had access to sensitive material. a year after he was first arrested, he left a fake bomb on his desk at his barracks and ran off to live in a van where police found £18,000. when recaptured, he was charged under the terrorism act and the official secrets act, which is why he was being held in wandsworth prison when he escaped. daniel sandford, bbc news at woolwich crown court. coming up, we will return to that debate as mp5 begin to debate and vote assisted dying, the bill tomorrow. we will talk to the archbishop of westminster in the next few moments here and bbc news. —— here on bbc news.

this is bbc news. here in the uk tomorrow, mps have the first opportunity

to debate and vote on a proposed law which would give terminally ill people in england and wales the right to choose to end their life. mps have been given a free vote, which means they can make their own decision rather than follow party instructions. former prime ministers have weighed in on the debate, with david cameron today revealing he'd changed his mind, becoming the only former pm to support the bill. which way the vote will go remains unknown. let's speak to archbishop of westminster, cardinal vincent nichols. the leader of the uk's roman catholics and one of 29 faith leaders who have joined forces in a letter to oppose assisted dying in the biggest intervention from religious groups on the issue. tell me the reasons you are against this bill. i5 tell me the reasons you are against this bill.— against this bill. is the “oint lateral with i against this bill. is the “oint lateral with many * against this bill. is the joint lateral with many religiousl lateral with many religious leaders said, we are concerned about the vulnerability of elderly people and those who, in the end, might feel they are

a burden on others and therefore explore taking the step of killing themselves. it really should be called an assisted suicide bill frankly because that's what it is, it enables the state provide the means for someone to commit suicide. the main point for me is that as human beings, we show dignity to each other by caring for each other, not by killing. and it is that sense of understanding the depth of a person and their dignity that would make me, if i was in parliament, vote against this bill. �* , . , parliament, vote against this bill. h . , , ., parliament, vote against this bill. i, ., bill. it's a very strong point and i will — bill. it's a very strong point and i will come _ bill. it's a very strong point and i will come back - bill. it's a very strong point and i will come back to - bill. it's a very strong point and i will come back to it, | bill. it's a very strong point i and i will come back to it, but and i will come back to it, but a lot of concern around the issue of coercion. two things on that, because there are safeguards in this bill, there have to be two doctors and a judge, and secondly, where is the evidence of coercion in any country that has adopted assisted dying? i

country that has adopted assisted dying?— country that has adopted assisted dying? i think the increase in _ assisted dying? i think the increase in numbers - assisted dying? i think the increase in numbers of - assisted dying? i think the i increase in numbers of those who have used assisted dying since introduced in other countries is very clear, numbers have spiralled in places like canada, for example. places like canada, for example-— places like canada, for examle. . ., ,�* , , example. that doesn't suggest coercion, though, _ example. that doesn't suggest coercion, though, does - example. that doesn't suggest coercion, though, does it? - example. that doesn't suggest coercion, though, does it? it. coercion, though, does it? it suggests that what might start out as a very clear definition of eligibility is very quickly broadened. and i think it's also very important to understand that eligibility in this draft bill is to do with a doctor's prognosis of death within six months. it's not to do with suffering, it's just simply to do with the prognosis of death. prognosis are notably very inaccurate. the other thing is the role of a judge. we have heard high courtjudges saying we don't want this, it's against the whole ethos of the court and the custom of law in

this country, but these are practical problems. for me, it is this lack of an understanding the true nature of dignity and autonomy. as human beings, we are not born autonomous, we are born into a family, a set of relationships, and to somehow propose a fundamental change in society which suggests that actually we are all autonomous individuals separate from each other really doesn't hold truth. irate separate from each other really doesn't hold truth.— doesn't hold truth. we have heard so — doesn't hold truth. we have heard so much _ doesn't hold truth. we have heard so much about - doesn't hold truth. we have| heard so much about dignity doesn't hold truth. we have i heard so much about dignity in dying, about people in intolerable pain. the point is about improving palliative care and perhaps that's where the focus should be but that would not cover all cases that we hear about, all conditions. do you accept that? i hear about, all conditions. do you accept that?— hear about, all conditions. do you accept that? i don't know, m own you accept that? i don't know, my own experiences _ you accept that? i don't know, my own experiences of - my own experiences of palliative care for those close

to me has been exceptional, and i would like the notion out of this debate that this should be a very objective look at the provision of palliative care, both in hospices and in the community because it makes an enormous difference and it enables a family, for example, to do what they probably want to do what they probably want to do, which is to accompany the dying person until they die in the best possible circumstances. that is in urgent need for us as a society. we honour people by caring for them, not by killing them. ed caring for them, not by killing them. , ., , . them. ed davey of the liberal democrats — them. ed davey of the liberal democrats said _ them. ed davey of the liberal democrats said today, - them. ed davey of the liberal democrats said today, it - them. ed davey of the liberal democrats said today, it all. democrats said today, it all seems a bit rushed to him. do you get that sense? i seems a bit rushed to him. do you get that sense?— you get that sense? i do, i absolutely _ you get that sense? i do, i absolutely agree _ you get that sense? i do, i absolutely agree with - you get that sense? i do, i | absolutely agree with that. there are so many voices, practically, legally, medically saying this is too rushed, it's not thought through. i think

it's better to step back and have a much more detailed look at all the issues when all voices can be heard, and some of them not attempted to be put away to one side in the last couple of days as we have heard. , . , ., heard. there is a focus on the practicalities. _ heard. there is a focus on the practicalities. isn't _ heard. there is a focus on the practicalities. isn't the - heard. there is a focus on the practicalities. isn't the truth l practicalities. isn't the truth for many people that this is an issue that revolves around religious beliefs and moral beliefs? that's the reality. haste beliefs? that's the reality. we are moral _ beliefs? that's the reality. - are moral individuals, we should have moral views and we should have moral views and we should consider things in their moral depth. for me and most of the people in the world, in the religious depth as well. —— in theirdepth. for me, death is a change in life, not an ending, and when we die, we have a home in heaven. that's a very religious belief but it is one shared by the majority of people in the world. i was

talkin: people in the world. i was talking to _ people in the world. i was talking to someone - people in the world. i was talking to someone on - people in the world. i was| talking to someone on the people in the world. i was - talking to someone on the other side of the debate and my final question was, as there anything you have heard and listened to in the way this has been debated that has made you think again, major powers and think, perhaps there is a point there? yes, listening to the stories of people who have suffered badly or have felt so isolated. one lady wrote to me and said that her father—in—law committed suicide because he felt so isolated and she would rather that he had been able to do that at home, rather than at a railway bridge, sol understand the depth of feeling on this and the anguish that people feel. both those in favour and those against, especially vulnerable people who today are fearful of what might emerge from this debate. thank you forjoining us on the

programme. thank you for “oining us on the programme.— on the bbc website, that debate is happening and the vote, the first vote tomorrow. there is all the details because it is a complex bill that those mps will be considering. it's a free vote but those practicalities i was talking about, all the details of what is in this bill and what they will be voting on as they are on the bbc website and app. i'm back with more headlines in the next few moments. next up, it's time for the business news. it's been a cold day after the widespread frost but things will be changing. the cold air is getting squeezed away, weather fronts just waiting to bring some rain in from the west but this evening, there

may well be an early frost across eastern scotland, the midlands and eastern parts of england we have clear skies and also later winds but temperatures will rise overnight. in the west, we got most of the cloud. the rain in northern ireland will head towards northern and western parts of scotland and temperatures by the end of the night may be in double figures. further east, temperatures will have lifted above freezing by the morning stop still actually start but for many central and eastern parts and eastern scotland, it should be a dry day with sunshine. breezes out to the west where the cloud will threaten to bring rain into northern ireland in the afternoon, western scotland and later over the irish sea. for all of us, temperatures will be higher than today, 12, maybe 13 celsius. forthe higher than today, 12, maybe 13 celsius. for the western side, maybe 8 celsius are low pressure to the west of the uk, high pressure to the east of us and a southerly breeze arriving, that's lifting the

temperatures, perhaps bringing a little bit of rain on friday night, that should have cleared away by saturday morning for many of us, i dry a cloudy picture on saturday. there could be a bit of rain around hills and coasts, particularly western scotland, and sunshine over the moray firth, east of the pennines and north wales but it will be a mild day everywhere, temperatures 13, up to 14 everywhere, temperatures 13, up to 1a celsius. there is a bit of rainjust waiting on to 1a celsius. there is a bit of rain just waiting on the winds out to the west. this weather front will push wet weather front will push wet weather eastwards on saturday night. that rain and clears away from scotland but we will see this rain moving into england and wales. much more unsettled on sunday, the rain followed by sunshine but also some showers. sunday is the first day of meteorological winter but it's not really going to feel particularly wintry at all. it will be a mild day on sunday, temperatures around 13 celsius. that mild weather is unlikely to last into monday. the wind direction changes. instead, we get a northerly wind that will

drop the temperatures during the day.

buy american! the head of the european central bank urges european leaders to �*negotitate and not retaliate' with the incoming trump administration. hong kong considers crypto tax breaks, as it aims to secure one of the top spots

in the digital currency world. and is the royal mail close to a sale — we'll get the latest news there may be a potential deal within weeks from our business editor. welcome to business today, i'm mark lobel. the head of the european central bank christine lagarde has urged european leaders to buy american products and work with the trump administration to avoid a trade war. lagarde warned any tit—for—tat tariffs are likely to have detrimental on the global economy. speaking to the finanical times, lagarde added the eu should buy certain american products such as liquefied natural gas and defence equipment. earlier i spoke to gervais williams, who's the head of equities at premier mytun and he believes the us holds all the cards when it comes to future trade talks. i think specifically we are seeing the us economy growing

quite happily at the moment.