guilty of spying for iran. the court heard daniel khalife�*s call to his iranian handler. i wanted to have some training from you guys, and i think the best training for me is inside of iran. masterchef�*s gregg wallace is to stop presenting while allegations of misconduct are investigated. tthe prime minister promises to turn the page on immigration as new figures suggest the uk's population grew by a record amount at the end of the last government. it's emerged that the transport secretary louise haigh pleaded guilty a decade ago to a criminal offence — over a mobile phone she claimed was stolen. and stay with us here on bbc news

for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world. good evening. tomorrow mps will make possibly the most momentous decision of their political lives when they vote on a bill which would allow assisted dying in england and wales. under the proposals, terminally ill adults expected to die within six months would be able to seek help to die if two doctors and a high courtjudge approve. our medical editor, fergus walsh, has been speaking to people on both sides of the debate. mark blackwell from south london has round—the—clock care from eppie, his wife of 45 years.

you can put your hand up and tell me you're ready for the next mouthful. he has advanced parkinson's and suffered a major stroke seven years ago. the couple both oppose assisted dying. when we got married, we made a vow of for better, for worse, in sickness and in health. and love is unconditional. otherwise, it isn't real love. and i feel very much that that's how i would like to show my love to mark, and to take care of him till the natural end of his life. the couple have seven children. their stance on assisted dying is partly due to their catholic faith and their experience as medical professionals working with psychiatric patients, some of whom took their own lives. i think suicide is tragic and destructive. and whether you legalise it or not doesn't take that away. and we want a compassionate society.

mark is no longer able to talk, but can still make his views clear. mark, if assisted dying was legalised, would that make you feel a burden make you feel a burden and a pressure to die? and a pressure to die? if the answer is yes, if the answer is yes, close your eyes. close your eyes. well, that's very clear. well, that's very clear. yeah, that's very clear. yeah, that's very clear. yeah. yeah. and then see if you can and then see if you can find anything that's find anything that's in date in the fridge. in date in the fridge. i know — that's going to be - i know — that's going to be - the difficulty, though, isn't it? and a very distressing death. the difficulty, though, isn't it? jan butterworth, from warwickshire, jan butterworth, from warwickshire, has advanced endometrial cancer has advanced endometrial cancer and has been told she has less and has been told she has less than six months to live. than six months to live. she wants the option of an assisted she wants the option of an assisted death after witnessing death after witnessing how her husband died nearly 30 years how her husband died nearly 30 years ago of liver cancer. ago of liver cancer. he died literally three weeks he died literally three weeks after he was diagnosed, after he was diagnosed, having gone to see the gp. having gone to see the gp.

and it was a very difficult and it was a very difficult and a very distressing death. jan hasjoined dignitas, but would rather die at home with her daughter and son by her side. she knows even if the law changes here it will come too late for her. it leaves me with a very poor set of options. essentially, i'm left with switzerland, suicide or suffering — the potential for suffering. it's a gamble. and to my mind, and for me, death shouldn't be a gamble. we should make it right for people. give them the opportunity to have a smooth passing, a comfortable death. fergus is here now along with chris mason our political editor.

chris, first. what a big day for mps. it chris, first. what a big day for mp5. , chris, first. what a big day for mps. , . , chris, first. what a big day for mps. , ., , chris, first. what a big day for mps. , ., ~, chris, first. what a big day for mps. ~ mps. it is a big day and mps are well aware _ mps. it is a big day and mps are well aware of _ mps. it is a big day and mps are well aware of that. _ mps. it is a big day and mps are well aware of that. it _ mps. it is a big day and mps are well aware of that. it will - mps. it is a big day and mps are well aware of that. it will start l well aware of that. it will start tomorrow morning and it will be led by the labour mp tomorrow morning and it will be led by the labour mp leadin- tomorrow morning and it will be led by the labour mp leadin- the by the labour mp leading the campaign for by the labour mp leading the campaignfora by the labour mp leading the campaign for a change in the law. she will tell mps, i hope parliament will be remembered as this major social reform, as she sees it, that gives people autonomy over the end of their lives and is ready to correct injustice and human suffering. critics will say and are saying the debate has been rushed, that it saying the debate has been rushed, thatitis saying the debate has been rushed, that it is ill thought through, the argument for change, and it could lead to filling of some being coerced into ending their life. how do the numbers stack up. it is really hard to tell because it is a free vote. neither side is sounding uber confident. narrowly i detect more confidence on those wanting a change in the law rather than those opposing the bill but many acknowledge there are loads of mps who have not said publicly what they are going to do and many say the debate itself could prove crucial

for some in terms of how they vote. if the bill is rejected tomorrow that will be parking issue in terms of a change in the law for some time. it is worth remembering if it is a yes, if it passes, it is the start of a long debate rather than the end and it will come to dominate a lot of political conversation next year. a lot of political conversation next ear. , ,., a lot of political conversation next ear. , ., , year. fergus, so poignant listening to the peeple _ year. fergus, so poignant listening to the peeple you _ year. fergus, so poignant listening to the people you spoke _ year. fergus, so poignant listening to the people you spoke to. - year. fergus, so poignant listening to the people you spoke to. just i to the people you spoke to. just some up for us the ethical arguments on each side. for some up for us the ethical arguments on each side-— on each side. for supporters this is about autonomy, _ on each side. for supporters this is about autonomy, dignity _ on each side. for supporters this is about autonomy, dignity at - on each side. for supporters this is about autonomy, dignity at the - on each side. for supporters this isj about autonomy, dignity at the end of life _ about autonomy, dignity at the end of life and — about autonomy, dignity at the end of life and giving people choice who are terminally ill. and ensuring they— are terminally ill. and ensuring they can — are terminally ill. and ensuring they can have a pain—free death because — they can have a pain—free death because even with the very best palliative — because even with the very best palliative care that cannot always ensure _ palliative care that cannot always ensure that a pain—free death and suffering — ensure that a pain—free death and suffering can still happen. for opponents, it is a chilling dangerous step which would put the vulnerable, the disabled, at risk, and a _ vulnerable, the disabled, at risk, and a right— vulnerable, the disabled, at risk, and a right to die might quickly turn _ and a right to die might quickly turn into— and a right to die might quickly turn into a _ and a right to die might quickly turn into a duty to die and it could

end up— turn into a duty to die and it could end up being used as a cheap alternative to good quality care. what _ alternative to good quality care. what both sides agree on is that the current— what both sides agree on is that the current patchy access to palliative care needs — current patchy access to palliative care needs urgent improvement. opinion— care needs urgent improvement. opinion polls show a clear majority of the _ opinion polls show a clear majority of the public are in favour. doctors' _ of the public are in favour. doctors' opinions are divided and several_ doctors' opinions are divided and several medical bodies have dropped

in other news... a former soldier who escaped from wandsworth prison after strapping himself to the underside of a lorry has been found guilty of spying for iran. woolwich crown court heard that 23—year—old daniel khalife was a serving soldier when he was paid by iranian agents for information about other troops, 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 five 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 seemed to want the spotlight. he always wanted to seem like he was the attention point and that 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'd work 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 mi5, offering to be a double agent. instead, they had him arrested, which is why he was in prison when he escaped. daniel's here now.

there are clear worries about a wider threat from countries like iran. yes, in many ways he is a one off, fantasies to dreams of being a special forces soldier and when that dream turned sour he ended up giving classified information to iran but he is also something of a canary in the coal mine because there are a number of cases coming down the track of what are sometimes called state threats, alleged acts of spying and sabotaged by countries like iran, russia and china and these cases are the product of a couple of phenomena, firstly the incredibly interconnected world we live in which allowed daniel khalife to essentially use facebook to contact iran's islamic revolutionary guard corps, but also allowed another man, dylan errol, from leicestershire, who recently pleaded guilty to carrying out an arson attack on the hearth of russia, to contact the state backed russian group wagner through telegram —— on

behalf of russia. this idea of cyber warfare, that countries like russia instead of using tanks, missiles and bullets to disrupt the societies of their geopolitical opponents, they would rather use sabotage and other forms of disruption. it is because of this that the last government introduced the national security act last year and by counterterrorism detectives are spending increasing amount of time on state threats rather than terrorism.— rather than terrorism. daniel sandford. — rather than terrorism. daniel sandford, thank _ rather than terrorism. daniel sandford, thank you. - the masterchef presenter gregg wallace will stop presenting the programme while allegations of historical misconduct are investigated. it comes after a bbc news investigation which heard from 13 people who've accused 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. noor nanji has the story. gregg wallace, one of britain's most

recognisable tv hosts. right, chefs, you've got a job to do... and tonight, he appeared on bbc one. one of you will be leaving the competition. but that appears to be wallace himself. he will stop presenting masterchef, pending an investigation, after bbc news heard allegations against him of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour across a 17—year period. stop, time's up! the veteran tv presenter kirsty wark was a contestant on celebrity masterchef in 2011. two occasions in particular where he used sexualised language in front of a number of people. and it wasn't as if anyone engaged with this — it was completely one—way traffic, but i think people were uncomfortable. i was actually more angry than anything else, because i thought it was so inappropriate. get yourself organised. and no—one's been late yet — don't buck the trend.

right. kirsty wark is one of 13 people making claims about gregg wallace's behaviour. many are young freelancers. allegations we've 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 junior female colleague that he wasn't wearing any boxer shorts under his jeans. gregg wallace! in 2018, a formal complaint was raised about him on the game show impossible celebrities. an hr investigation took place. in the outcome letter, which we have seen, the bbc concluded that "many aspects of wallace's behaviour were both unacceptable and unprofessional". wallace apologised. allegations of further incidents have since emerged. claire — not her real name — worked on masterchef between 2018 and 2020. he would ask us for a massage if his back hurt.

it was always staring straight at your chest even if you weren't wearing anything revealing. it was more in sort of, "i'm doing this to let you know i can do this." one of the biggest trade unions say they have been aware of a number of allegations against him. well, i'd like to say that i'm surprised by these reports. i guess my reaction is, it was a matter of when, not if. on tuesday, we put the allegations to gregg wallace's representatives. today, it's been confirmed that he is to step away from presenting masterchef. wallace's lawyers say it is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature and claim the bbc probe in 2018 found his behaviour was not sexually inappropriate. tonight, wallace has responded on instagram... i would like to thank all of the people getting in touch, reaching

out and showing me support. it comes as more people have come forward, including the rockstar rod stewart, who says wallace humiliated his wife when she was on masterchef, adding, "karma got you." noor nanji, bbc news. the prime minister has accused the conservatives of running what he called "an open borders experiment" during their time in office. revised data for net migration — that's the number of people who arrive in the uk minus those who leave — shows that numbers, which were at record levels, were in fact higher still towards the end of the conservative government due to a higher number of ukrainians here than previously estimated, and others overstaying their visas. 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. here's our political editor chris mason again.

who arrives in the uk and who goes? who's welcome and who's 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's important that 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'll 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're working on 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'd 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 that they wanted to see the numbers fall. why should people believe you now, that you can achieve something that predecessors have not? there's a fundamental problem here, and that's 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 that 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?

dramatically reduce legal migration through a hard cap, for example. and a pivot away from mass, low—skill immigration that we want to end towards high wage, high—skill immigration. but the conservatives won't tell us what that numerical cap would actually be. reform uk celebrated having 100,000 members today. a typically blunt nigel farage says the consequences of the immigration numbers are obvious. horrendous if you want . to get a gp appointment. horrendous if you want _ to get a gp appointment. to travel around britain's motorways. horrendous if you want your kids or grandkids to ever get a foot . onto the housing ladder. and yet so many arrivals you have been crucial in the care sector and elsewhere in the economy. the government wants economic growth and shrivelled immigration numbers.

achieving either won't be easy. both, a huge challenge. 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. 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 750,000 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 quite legally — workers, students, family members and refugees were given visas by the government. only around 3% of the total came in small boats or by 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. reeta. we'll have more on illegal migration a little later in the programme paddy o'connell over on newsnight on bbc two at 10:30. we have more of that live debate on those figures. but we will lead on a

moving story about the transport secretary on her mobile phone. she says she pleaded guilty to a criminal offence over a police investigation into a phone she claimed was stolen. what is going on, we will ask. and ahead of the historic vote on assisted dying, we will be joined historic vote on assisted dying, we will bejoined by historic vote on assisted dying, we will be joined by two patients facing the end of their with differing views. we are grateful to them and we would love it if you joined us on newsnight, on the iplayer, bbc news and bbc two. the transport secretary louise haigh has admitted pleading guilty to a criminal offence relating to a police investigation over a mobile phone she had claimed was stolen. in a statement, ms haigh said she told police she had lost her phone during a mugging on a night out in 2013 but later found it had not been taken. let's go to damian

grammaticas at westminster. explained this to us? well, this all dates back to _ explained this to us? well, this all dates back to before _ explained this to us? well, this all dates back to before louise - explained this to us? well, this all dates back to before louise haigh| dates back to before louise haigh entered politics. in a statement that she issued this evening, she says that this was back in 2013, she was on a night out, she was mugged, she said, and reported that the police, including the fact that she believed her mobile phone had been taken. she later discovered that had not happened. it was a work mobile and she had then been issued a new one. the police called her back in for questioning on the advice of her solicitors she said she would not comment. the matter was referred to prosecutors and then the magistrates' court, where she pleaded guilty to a criminal offence. this was about six months before the 2015 election, when she first stood. she says this was all a genuine mistake, she did not benefit in any way and the magistrate accepted that, and so gave her a discharge with no significant punishment. it is understood that

she disclosed this to the labour leadership when she was appointed to sir keir starmer�*s shadow cabinet four years ago. the bbc has asked for clarification as to exactly what a criminal offence she pleaded guilty to. we have not had that. conservatives say there are serious questions to answer. downing street this evening has not commented. two bulgarian men have pleaded guilty to spying for russia in the uk. biser dzhambazov from london and orlin roussev from great yarmouth have admitted conspiracy to spy. their guilty pleas can be reported for the first time after a jury at the old bailey was told about them at the start of a trial of three other alleged spies. ian harvey, the former medical director of the hospital where lucy letby murdered seven babies and tried to kill a further seven, has admitted that there had been a "potential missed opportunity" to stop her. giving evidence at the public inquiry, mr harvey said the unexplained deaths of three babies on the neonatal unit injune 2015 should have been reported as a serious incident.

who's in iraq on a three day visit, has announced a plan well, we've heard about legal migration — the home secretary, who's in iraq on a three day visit, has announced a plan to tackle illegal migration — specifically, smuggling gangs responsible for thousands of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reporting from northern iraq. if you want to fight people smuggling, you need to follow the money. and the path migrants take often begins in the markets of erbil, for it's here that money can be laid down to buy a seat on a small boat across the channel. that's what shukria's son did, and it cost him his life. baryar mohamed paid people smugglers to get him onto a 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 tear 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 iraqi government seemed keen. laying on a noisy welcome in baghdad, they agreed to share more intelligence, do morejoint law enforcement operations and tighten border security. they 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 it wouldn't stop him. 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. the home secretary hopes that as security improves on the streets of iraq, migration will fall. but for now it's a hope, not a guarantee. james landale, bbc news, northern iraq. australia is to become the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16 — after a new bill was passed in the country's senate. prime minister anthony albanese said the legislation was needed to protect young people

from the harms of social media. katy watson reports from sydney. it's a global problem with a solution being offered up by australia. a world—first piece of legislation, it boasts, that the prime minister said was for the mums and dads worried about their kids. i want young australians to grow up happy, active and safe. playing outside with their friends, off their phones and onto the footy and cricket field, or indeed just engaging with each other on a face—to—face basis. while australia isn't the first country to try and limit children's social media use, this is the highest age limit set by any country. unsurprisingly, it's not a popular move for those impacted by the law. i'll be annoyed. like, i'd like to keep using it. and, i don't know, it'd be a weird feeling to not have it and be able to talk to all my friends at home. i'm pretty sure kids know how-

to make themselves appear older than 16 when they're not. so it will come down to parents having to, you know, _ monitor and remove it, if the kids are on it. - but then i think kidsl are pretty savvy too, and they'll probably be able to work out how to work around that. - all eyes are on australia as governments around the world grapple with the same issue. katie watson, bbc news, in sydney. football now, and in tonight's europa league games tottenham drew with roma 2—2, while rangers thumped nice 4—1. and in the same competition it was the first home game in charge for manchester united's new manager ruben amorim. nestor mcgregor watched the action. a cold night inside old trafford, a warm night for their new manager. ruben amorim, the new man employed to bring the glory days back to manchester united. in bodo/glimt they were facing the champions of norway, whose nervy start was instantly punished. however, the norwegian champions

were soon notjust level but in front with two quick goals. just before the break the game was level again. rasmus hojlund with the clever finish... ..much to the delight of the new man in the dugout. early in the second half hojlund with his second — the home side back in front. united had several chances to extend their lead but 3—2 is how the game finished. a first win for ruben amorim, the start of a new era.