promises on immigration have been broken for years and years and years. we ask, what is the likelihood that that will change now? a former soldier who escaped and went on the run from wandsworth prison is found guilty of spying for iran. after 50 years, a new treatment for asthma sufferers — we'll tell you why researchers think it's so promising. and the princess of wales leads tributes to the terminally ill teenager with a photography bucket list who she met last month. and coming up on bbc news, will ruben amorim get a first win for manchester united 7 the portuguese coach will be in the dugout at old trafford as they prepare to take on norway's bodo/glimt.

good evening. the masterchef presenter gregg wallace, who has fronted the show for almost 20 years, will stop presenting the programme while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated. it comes after a bbc news investigation which heard from 13 people, accusing him of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour over a period of 17 years. his lawyers strongly deny that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. the bbc says it takes any issues raised with them seriously. our culture reporter noor nanji has the story. great creations on the way. you have 15 minutes to finish it.— 15 minutes to finish it. gregg wallace, one _ 15 minutes to finish it. gregg wallace, one of— 15 minutes to finish it. gregg wallace, one of britain's - 15 minutes to finish it. gregg l wallace, one of britain's most recognisable tv hosts, for years he has been the face of prime time tv. but the bbc news investigation has

heard allegations against him of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour across a 17 year period. the veteran tv presenter, kirsty work, was a contestant on celebrity masterchef in 2011. fin contestant on celebrity masterchef in 2011. ., ., , in 2011. on two occasions in particular. _ in 2011. on two occasions in particular. he _ in 2011. on two occasions in particular, he used - in 2011. on two occasions in i particular, he used sexualised language in front of a number of peopla — language in front of a number of people. and it wasn't as if it was anyone _ people. and it wasn't as if it was anyone engaged with us, it was completely when i track it but i think_ completely when i track it but i think people are uncomfortable. i was axing — think people are uncomfortable. i was axing more angry than anything elsa _ was axing more angry than anything else. because i thought it was so inappropriate. no else. because i thought it was so inappmpriate-_ else. because i thought it was so inauroriate. ., ., , inappropriate. no one has been legit was that don't _ inappropriate. no one has been legit was that don't buck _ inappropriate. no one has been legit was that don't buck the _ inappropriate. no one has been legit was that don't buck the trend - inappropriate. no one has been legit was that don't buck the trend of. - was that don't buck the trend of. kirsty is one of 13 people making claims about gregg wallace's behaviour. many are young freelancers. allegations we have heard include gregg wallace talking openly about his sex life, taking his top off in front of a female

worker, telling her he wanted to give her a fashion show, and telling a juniorfemale give her a fashion show, and telling a junior female colleague that he wasn't wearing any boxer shorts under his genes. in 2018 a formal complaint was raised to bout him on the game show impossible celebrities. hr investigation took place. on the outcome letter which we have seen, bbc concluded that many aspects of wallace's behaviour were both unacceptable and unprofessional. wallace apologised. a senior executive at the bbc held a meeting with wallace to make clear how seriously the bbc takes this matter. she also said that action would be taken to prevent a similar reappearance. but allegations of further incidents have since emerged. claire, not her real name, worked on masterchef between 2018 and 2020. he worked on masterchef between 2018 and 2020. ., . ,~' , ., . and 2020. he would ask us for a massage. _ and 2020. he would ask us for a massage. if _ and 2020. he would ask us for a massage, if his _ and 2020. he would ask us for a massage, if his back _ and 2020. he would ask us for a massage, if his back hurts, - and 2020. he would ask us for a massage, if his back hurts, it. and 2020. he would ask us for a l massage, if his back hurts, it was

always staring straight at your chest even if you aren't wearing out and revealing. it is sort of i am doing this to let you know i can do this. ., , , . ., this. one of the biggest trade union sa the this. one of the biggest trade union say they have _ this. one of the biggest trade union say they have been _ this. one of the biggest trade union say they have been aware _ this. one of the biggest trade union say they have been aware of - this. one of the biggest trade union say they have been aware of a - this. one of the biggest trade union i say they have been aware of a number of allegations against him. i say they have been aware of a number of allegations against him.— of allegations against him. i would like to say i _ of allegations against him. i would like to say i am — of allegations against him. i would like to say i am surprised - of allegations against him. i would like to say i am surprised by - of allegations against him. i would like to say i am surprised by these j like to say i am surprised by these reports _ like to say i am surprised by these reports i— like to say i am surprised by these reports. i guess my reaction is, it was a _ reports. i guess my reaction is, it was a matler— reports. i guess my reaction is, it was a matter of when, not if these stories— was a matter of when, not if these stories started to emerge. on tuesda stories started to emerge. q�*i tuesday we put the stories started to emerge. q�*i tuesday we put the allegations to gregg wallace's representatives. todayit gregg wallace's representatives. today it has been confirmed he is to step away from presenting masterchef. wallace's lawyers say it is entirely full city engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature. they claim the bbc probe in 2018 found his behaviour was not sexually inappropriate. but tonight more claims have emerged, including from rock star rod stewart, who said wallace humiliated his wife when she was on masterchef, adding, calmer got you.

the prime minister has announced a wide—ranging overhaul of the immigration system as he accused the conservatives of "running an open borders experiment" during their time in office. new figures that have been revised show the record net migration figures, that's the number of people who come to the uk minus those who leave, were even higher than thought towards the end of the conservative government. 906,000 more people arrived in the uk than left betweenjune 2022 and june 2023 — 160,000 more than first thought. that number fell to 728,000 in the following 12 months. our political editor, chris mason, has more. who arrives in the uk, and who goes. who is welcome, and who is not. the politics of immigration over the last decade is a catalogue of failure, when you compare the numbers with the words.

net migration to this country will be in the order of tens of thousands each year. no ifs, no buts. it is important we have net migration that is in sustainable numbers. we believe sustainable numbers are the tens of thousands. the numbers will come down because we will be able - to control the system. i am committed to bringing those numbers down. for now, at least, the prime minister can and does blame his predecessors. this happened by design, not accident. policies were reformed deliberately to liberalise immigration. brexit was used for that purpose. to turn britain into a one nation experiment in open borders. he says they are working a plan to cut the numbers of legal migrants with a crackdown on visa abuse and better training, so employers don't need

as many foreign workers. he won't put a number on the net migration he would be happy with, but says it has to come down significantly. the uk appears to have become addicted to immigration, despite the fact that millions of people for years and years have indicated they wanted to see the numbers fall. why should people believe you, now, that you can achieve something that predecessors have not? there is a fundamental problem here, and that is to do with the way our economy works, and the loss of control of immigration under the last government. we are going to turn that around with the measures i have set out. yesterday, the new conservative leader kemi badenoch and her shadow home secretary said their party had got immigration wrong, so what would they do now? we need a new approach, we need a hard cap on numbers. we need to move away from mass, low skilled, low wage migration towards a much, much lower limited number of high skill, high wage migrants. but the conservatives won't tell us

what that numerical cap would be. reform uk celebrated having 100,000 members today. nigel farage says the consequences of the immigration numbers are obvious. horrendous, if you want to get a gp appointment. to travel around britain's motorways. horrendous, if you want your kids or grand kids to ever get a foot on to the housing ladder. arrivals and departures here will remain central to our national conversation for years to come. and that is because in an area with a deep anti—politics mood, perceived failures on immigration are seen by many to be totemic, but can a government that is promising to deliver economic growth do it without significant immigration? they want to increase the size of the economy and shrivelled the immigration numbers. big asks particularly when you try to do

both. our home editor mark easton has been taking a closer look at the latest migration figures and asking what impact they have on the uk. this is gloucester. population 166,000. that's how many people the office for national statistics now says were missing from the net migration figures they'd published for the year to june last year. we'd thought immigration added almost three quarters of a million to the population in those 12 months — as you can see here — a huge number which prompted a heated political debate at the time. but now the official stats say it was more than 900,000 — as this grey line shows. so why the increase? the office for national statistics says it is getting greater accuracy and now think it underestimated the number of refugees who came to the uk from ukraine and how many people who arrive on a short—term visas actually stay for more than 12

months and should be included in the data. the vast majority of people who came to live in the uk in the last year arrived legally — workers, students and other groups who were given visas by the government. only around 3% came in small boats or other unauthorised routes. so, what is the impact of these changes to the figures? well, it means the uk population is a little bigger than we thought. it means more pressure on public services and housing than we thought. and it means the stats are less reliable than we thought. we have a gloucester—sized hole in our understanding of immigration. all this comes as the home secretary is in iraq on a three—day visit — she's announced a plan to tackle smuggling gangs responsible for thousands of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. our diplomatic correspondent james landale reports now

from in northern iraq. if you want to fight people smuggling, you need to follow the money. and the path migrants take often begins here in the markets of erbil, for it's here that money can be laid down to buy a seat on a small boat crossing the channel. that's what this woman's son did, and it cost him his life. he paid people smugglers to get him to france and across the channel in a small boat, but it sank. he wasjust 23. translation: i wish they would die, all these smugglers. _ they deserve to die for every tear i have shed for my son, for every other mothers have shed for their children. i pray that god punishes them for what they have done. it's in this city and others

in kurdistan that many people—smuggling gangs are based. and that's why the home secretary has come here to try to tackle the problem at source. the criminals are operating across borders. we have to cooperate across borders. itjust hasn't been happening on the scale that it needs to. the iraqi government seemed keen, laying on a noisy welcome in baghdad for a rare ministerial visit from the uk. they agreed to share more intelligence and do morejoint law enforcement operations and tighten border security. the home secretary also agreed a new deal to ensure failed iraqi asylum—seekers in the uk are returned home more swiftly. is there not a risk that you're playing whac—a—mole here, that you will take out one smuggler network and it'll immediately be replaced by another? it has to be comprehensive. ijust think they have been getting away with this for too long, and we've seen more and more lives being lost, we've seen these really damaging small boat crossings that

cause huge problems. much will depend on the capability of iraqi police, like these young cadets. they'll get more training to take on the gangs. this people smuggler told us the deal might make him more cautious but wouldn't stop him sending migrants across the channel. translation: yes, - the smuggling will continue. if i do not do it, there are many who will. in the event of deaths or harm, we do not bear responsibility. this has been here for a long time? until recently, the site of a british minister walking the streets of baghdad would have been unthinkable. but the home secretary hopes as security improves, migration can fall. but for now, it's a hope, not a guarantee. james landale, bbc news, northern iraq. a former soldier who admitted escaping from wandsworth prison in london by strapping himself beneath a catering van has been

found guilty of spying for iran. woolwich crown court heard that 23—year—old daniel khalife was serving in the british army when he was paid by iranian agents to gather the names of serving uk soldiers, including members of the special forces. our uk correspondent daniel sandford reports. in the blue top, this was daniel khalife in wandsworth prison kitchen, just before his escape. 15 minutes later, he was driven out of the jail, clinging to the bottom of this catering truck, suspended by a sling made of kitchen trousers. the driver, unaware of the stowaway, made his way through the 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 5 o'clock that afternoon, he was six miles away, stealing a baseball cap in mountain warehouse to hide his face. the next morning he bought spare clothes in marks & spencer, before casually reading about his escape in the newspapers. the huge publicity led to hundreds of calls to the police, and eventually, after three days on the run, daniel khalife was spotted riding a bike along this canal towpath, and arrested by a plain clothes detective, who he promptly congratulated. the son of a british iranian single mother, daniel khalife had joined the army aged 16. one fellow recruit remembered him as an annoying attention seeker. how cocky he was, how arrogant he came across, and just how he seems to want the spotlight. he always wanted to seem like he was the attention point and no—one else could take it. within a year ofjoining the army,

he was in a north london park, collecting £1,500 in a dog poo bag from iranian agents. he even travelled to istanbul for a meeting, later telling 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 am one of the most intelligent people. i won an award. i am better than everybody here. in a message he said he had worked for iran for 25 plus years. iran is one off 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. khalife had sent the iranians classified strategy documents that he upgraded to secret, but misspelled the word. he was only caught with because he called m15 offering to be a double agent. instead, they had him arrested, which is why he was in prison when he escaped.

daniel sandford, bbc news. the metropolitan police is investigating at least five people who may have assisted or facilitated mohamed al fayed's sexual offences. the force launched a new investigation after 90 alleged victims came forward, following a recent bbc documentary. al fayed died last year, but never faced any criminal charges. the current owners of harrods say they "wholeheartedly" support the police investigation. it's the first new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years, and researchers at kings college london are describing it as a "game—changer". the study suggests that offering patients an injection is more effective than the current use of steroid tablets. our health correspondent sophie hutchinson has been looking at the research. every ten seconds someone in the uk has an asthma attack, and it can be dangerous. this trial used an existing medication, benralizumab,

in a new way during acute flare ups, to calm down lung inflammation, and patients have said it's a game changer. i felt completely different. it changed my life, i could drive where ever i wanted. i didn't feel i'm going to get stuck because i can't breathe. researchers from king's college london gave patients with asthma and the lung disease copd injections during a particular type of common flare up. the results, published in the lancet respiratory medicine journal, found a failure rate of 74% when taking the current treatment of steroids, but that dropped to 45% with the new therapy. benralizumab significantly reducing hospital admission and fatalities. so how does it work? it's administered by an injection, and if somebody gets a flare up of their symptoms and they end up in hospital, that injection can be given there.

but there is hope that actually it's the sort of thing that can be put into the hands of primary care gps or indeed potentially it's something that you can give to yourself at home. now, home treatment is only a possibility for the future at the moment, but those behind the trial believe they've had a real breakthrough, researchers say. next year, a larger trial will begin aimed at confirming the success of this treatment. the time is 18:20. our top story this evening... masterchef�*s gregg wallace stops presenting duties while allegations of misconduct are investigated. and coming up — australia is to become the first country in the world to ban social media for under—16s. coming up on bbc news, shoaib bashir leads the fight—back for england in the first test against new zealand. the 21—year—old took four wickets on the first day after england elected to bowl.

two bulgarian men have pleaded guilty to spying for russia in the uk. orlin roussev from great yarmouth and biser dzhambazov from london have admitted conspiracy to spy. their guilty pleas can be reported for the first time after a jury at the old bailey were told about them at the start of a trial of three other alleged spies. daniel de simonejoins us from the old bailey. jurors today were told this case is aboufs jurors today were told this case is about�*s nasse, about russian intelligence operations, about sophisticated tools being used to steal information. but that those spied on were real targets, real people. a russian spy cell operating in the uk. the guilty pleas of these two bulgarian men, orlin roussev and biser dzhambazov can be reported for the first time today. denying the same charge, three other bulgarians vanya gaberova, katrin ivanova and tihomir ivanchev.

prosecutor alison morgan kc said the defendants had engaged in high level espionage, put lives at risk, and sought to gather information for russia, an enemy of the uk. jurors heard the group was directed by orlin roussev, who took instructions from a russian agent abroad, with people and places then targeted for surveillance. this great yarmouth guest house occupied by roussev was packed with technical equipment, the court heard, including gadgets used to steal data from phones. the female defendants were envisaged as a honey trap, jurors were told. sexual bait for their targets. both women were in relationships with biser dzhambazov, when police raided katrin ivanova's london flat, they found a range of false

passports under fake identities. investigative journalist christo grozev was one alleged target. his work exposed russia's role in the salisbury nerve agent attack. the court heard the alleged spy cells leaders and the russian agent who directed him from abroad had discussed potentially kidnapping christo grozev and taking him to moscow, or even killing him. the three defendants are alleged to have followed people throughout europe, and targeted a us military base in germany. they deny all the charges. daniel de simone, bbc news, at the old bailey. australia is to become the first country in the world to ban social media for under—16s in what is one of the toughest crackdowns on the likes of tiktok, instagram and facebook. the ban will not take effect for at least a year but it could see tech companies fined millions of dollars if they don't comply. australia's prime minister anthony albanese says the legislation is needed to protect young people

from harm and make them more active. mr speaker, i want young australians to grow up happy, active and safe. playing outside with their friends. off their phones and on to the footie and cricket field, or indeed, just engaging with each other, on a face to face basis. the former medical director at the countess of chester hospital where nurse lucy letby murdered seven babies, and tried to kill seven others, has admitted the police should have been called in earlier. ian harvey, who was speaking publicly for the first time at the inquiry into the murders, apologised to their families. judith moritz reports. as medical director, ian harvey was the most senior doctor at the countess of chester hospital. when it came to medical issues, the buck stopped with him. but he has been criticised for the way he handled consultants' warnings than lucy letby might be deliberately harming babies. today, he said all he had ever

wanted was to keep the hospital safe and help parents understand what had happened to their children. if i have failed in those aims, i am truly sorry. mr harvey, you say "if i have failed in those aims," reflecting now, do you think you did fail in those aims to secure patients' safety or babies' safety? i think the simple fact that there was an increase in mortality is an indication that we got things wrong. several doctors were trying to raise the alarm. injune 2016, one consultant said a group email, saying it was time to call in the police. another replied to say the bosses weren't treating things with the safe degree of urgency as they were. ian harvey was copied into the messages and stepped in. "this is absolutely being treated with the same degree of urgency," he wrote. and then ordered, "all i

males cease forthwith." and then ordered, "all emails cease forthwith." there is a habit, a tendency when one receives, when there is, for want of a better phrase, hot topic for e—mails, because they are so easy to send, to become and more more extreme, and i was attempting to dampen that down, but i fully accept that i got that completely wrong. ian harvey said he regretted not contacting the police at that point, and accepted the investigations he had commissioned weren't designed to find evidence of criminality. he will be back at the public inquiry tomorrow. judith moritz, bbc news, liverpool. every pensioner in scotland will receive a winter heating payment from next year. the scottish government has announced that those on benefits like pension credit would get £200 or £300 depending on their age. all other pensioners would get £100 per household. the uk government scrapped universal entitlement to winter fuel payments

earlier this year. our scotland editor james cookjoins us now. /abt espionage /—rbgs about russian intelligence operations, about sophisticated tools being used to steal information. but that those spied on were real targets, real people. tell us how this will work? how it will be paid for?— will be paid for? well, i tell you what, first _ will be paid for? well, i tell you what, first of _ will be paid for? well, i tell you what, first of all— will be paid for? well, i tell you what, first of all good _ will be paid for? well, i tell you what, first of all good evening l will be paid for? well, i tell you - what, first of all good evening from a very cold crieff where the temperature has not risen above freezing all day, rather underlining why this is such a heated debate. many pensioners here say life was hard enough because of high food and energy price, even before this decision by the uk government, and so the decision by the scottish government has been welcomed by some, although not all pensioners here. you know it is a terrible decision to have — you know it is a terrible decision to have to— you know it is a terrible decision to have to make whether you heat the house _ to have to make whether you heat the house or _ to have to make whether you heat the house or whether you buy food, i mean _ house or whether you buy food, i mean it— house or whether you buy food, i mean it is— house or whether you buy food, i mean it is pretty shocking and it is getting _ mean it is pretty shocking and it is getting worse. mean it is pretty shocking and it is getting worse-— mean it is pretty shocking and it is getting worse. financially, scotland and england — getting worse. financially, scotland and england are _ getting worse. financially, scotland and england are close _ getting worse. financially, scotland and england are close for— getting worse. financially, scotland and england are close for money i getting worse. financially, scotland and england are close for money at| and england are close for money at the moment, so i can't help but feel... it was the right decision to make sure it went to the people who

needed it but not to everybody. and that hints at rather big question, how is this going to be paid for? and we may get a lot more details on that when the scottish government sets out its full budget in detail next week. sophie.- in detail next week. sophie. james thank you- — james thank you. it's thursday, it's question time. here's fiona with what's coming up. on tonight's programme we have the culture secretary lisa nandy, the politician turned reality tv showjacob rees—mogg, the politician turned podcaster rory stewart and the broadcaster mariella frostrup. we're on iplayerfrom 9.00 and bbc one after the ten o'clock news. the prince and princess of wales have paid tribute to a 17—year—old girl, liz hatton, who's died from an aggressive and rare form of cancer, calling her a brave and humble young woman. they met last month after the teenager, from harrogate in north yorkshire, set up a bucket list she wanted to photograph

as danny savage reports. she was a gifted teenage photographer, given only months to live. so liz hatton's family came up with a bucket list of things to do before she died. my mum said, "why don't we put it out there, for people to see?" i told her, "do what you want, because nobody�*s going to even look at it, never mind respond." i'm rankin. people certainly did respond, at the highest level. one of britain's leading fashion photographers let her loose on a shoot. when you hear a story about somebody that is not maybe got long to live, and they have a bucket list, you can't help but be immediately drawn to want to help. honestly, i think you're incredible. kensington palace invited liz to take pictures of an investiture ceremony, which was then followed by an unexpected audience with william and catherine. she even shared a hug with the princess, who herself has been treated for cancer this year.

there was definitely a level of empathy there, on both parts, i would say, because obviously, you understand better once you have gone through something. we spoke to them for a good half hour or so, and it was just amazing because they were so, so, kind. today, the prince and princess of wales said it was an honour to have met such a brave and humble young woman. liz hatton died yesterday, aged 17. her parents want the last thing on her bucket list to be better cancer research, so other families don't face the same fate. danny savage, bbc news, harrogate. time for a look at the weather. thank you, there were places in the north of scotland that didn't get above freezing, the frost lingered all day long, it was milder out towards the west of the uk, with a fair bit of cloud, that is a sign of things to come because on the

satellite picture you can see this stripe of cloud, it has been bringing rain in northern ireland and western scotland, but ahead of this we are going to be drawing in mild air, so through tonight, temperatures in many place also tend to rise, but early on, some frost in eastern parts, some fog across eastern parts, some fog across eastern parts, some fog across eastern parts of england right now but as the breeze picks up a bit through the second half of the night i think that fog should tend to lift. some rain in northern ireland, the north—west of scotland, it will be a windy night here but those temperatures, generally creeping up as the night wears on and 11 for stornoway, 12 for belfast and plymouth, so pretty mild in the west by the end of the night. into tomorrow, across a good part of england and wales, we will see dry weather, particularly further east weather, particularly further east we will get spells of hazy sunshine, northern ireland, scotland, seeing outbreaks of rain, particularly out to 1445 00:30:50,466