the explosion happened early this morning. the bomb reportedly hidden on a scooter, a dramatic targeted assassination. the former archbishop of canterbury george carey has quit as a priest over his handling of a child abuse investigation in the church of england. and when the billionaire treasurer, elon musk, and the leader of reform uk met at mar a lago — chris mason will tell us what it all means. on bbc london, preparing for their last christmas at home. the and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news — england's cricketers end the year with one of their heaviest defeats in the final test against new zealand in hamilton. hello, welcome to the bbc news at six. the father and stepmother of ten—year—old sara sharif have

been sentenced to life in prison for her murder. urfan sharif was given a minimum term of a0 years, beinash batool of 33 years. sara's uncle, faisal malik, was jailed for 16 years for causing or allowing the death of a child. during the sentencing hearing, the judge described sara as suffering a "campaign of torture" which took place in plain sight. here's our uk correspondent daniel sandford, and a warning his report contains distressing details. sara sharif�*s friends and teachers will always remember her for her love of singing and her sparky personality. but in august last year, aged just ten, she was brutally beaten to death in her own home. tortured, the judge said. sara's death was the culmination of years of neglect,

frequent assaults and what can only be described as the torture of this small child. her torturers, herfather urfan sharif and stepmother, beinash batool were arrested on a flight back from pakistan after 36 days on the run. last week, both were found guilty of murder. today, the judge sentenced them to life with minimum terms in prison of a0 years and 33 years. sara sharif had been known to social services since before she was born. she was twice in foster care before the age of three because of violence in the home, and social workers had considered taking her into care permanently. she ended up living with her mother until there were new allegations of violence by her. aged six, she returned to live with her father and stepmother, but the violence immediately started again in her new home. in police interviews after their arrests, her killers said nothing.

do you love sara? no comment. did you care about her at all? no comment. sara's body was found by police at her home in woking after her family had all fled. her injuries included being burnt by an iron, scalded by hot water and being bitten by her stepmother. police went there after receiving this call from her father. who has killed your daughter? it's me. he had beaten her with a cricket bat and a metal pole, leaving her with more than 25 broken bones sustained over several weeks and a serious brain injury. five months before she was killed, sara's school saw bruising on herface. social services asked teachers to monitor her, but soon afterwards her parents just removed her from school. it's unusual forjudges to pass comment on matters of public policy

when passing a sentence, but today mr justice kavanagh went out of his way to express his disquiet about a child about whom there were welfare concerns being taken out of school to be home—schooled. this case brings into sharp relief the dangers of unsupervised home schooling of vulnerable children. it is a matter of concern that parents who are abusing or who have malign intent towards their children appear to be able to home—school more or less at will and without supervision. neighbours held a vigil this weekend for a little girl who wanted to win x—factor, but will instead be remembered for the brutal way she was killed. an independent review will now examine why surrey county council, the family court, the police and her school were unable to prevent her death. daniel sandford, bbc news at the old bailey. as we heard there, the judge went out of his way to highlight what he called the dangers of unsupervised home—schooling

of vulnerable children. under new legislation put forward today, some parents in england will no longer have the automatic right to take their children out of school. our social affairs editor alison holt is here. alison, how much difference could this change make to children like sara sharif? it is really difficult to say, because one of the important things to remember here is that it was her father and stepmother who should have kept her safe but murdered her brutally. tragically there are always situations where people do evil things. always situations where people do evilthings. but always situations where people do evil things. but we hope with this bill is it will strengthen the safeguards. so there will be a register of children who are not in school and we are told that will mean monitoring visits, although we don't know how often those will happen. in surrey where sara lived there was already a register of home—schooled children and she was killed during the summer holidays. so the chains that might have made the biggest difference for her is

that the legislation will mean local authorities will be able to intervene if a family where a child, there has been a child protection inquiry were there on child protection plan, once attacked the child out of school. for all children were generally if the council thinks the educational home environment is unsuitable there will be able to require the child to go into school. they will also be an identifier number. that will be for each child and it will be easier for local authorities to track concerns if families move about. perhaps the biggest shift in this legislation is towards more early intervention, because if you can provide support for a family early on, hopefully you can head off some of the difficulties and perhaps prevent a crisis. i difficulties and perhaps prevent a crisis. . , difficulties and perhaps prevent a crisis. ., , ., difficulties and perhaps prevent a crisis. . , ., ., difficulties and perhaps prevent a crisis. ., , ., ., ., ~ , ., ukrainian intelligence sources say kyiv was responsible for a bomb attack in moscow which killed a senior russian general. they claim that igor kirillov was a legitimate target, because he co—ordinated the use

of chemical weapons on ukrainian forces. the kremlin said this morning's attack was an act of terrorism, and vowed revenge. our russia editor steve rosenberg sent this report from moscow. being filmed from a car opposite, a russian general and his assistant. here, what appears to be a scooter — we will come back to that. what fallowed was a giant explosion, with deadly consequences. the two men were killed. the two men were killed, a moscow apartment block was now a crime scene. investigators sifted through the debris, searching for clues. later, a spokesperson for russia's investigative committee revealed the bomb had been hidden on the scooter, a terrorist attack, she called it. it was the targeted assassination of this man. lieutenant general igor kirillov was chief of russia's radiation, chemical

and biological protection forces. only yesterday, ukraine had reportedly charged him in absentia for his alleged use of chemical weapons in the war. the general was known for making wild accusations against the west. he once claimed that america was plotting to infect russian troops with malaria, by releasing mosquitoes from drones. in october, the foreign office sanctioned him, calling him a significant mouthpiece for kremlin disinformation. russian state tv said that with today's attack, president zelensky signed his own death sentence. the former kremlin leader dmitry medvedev called for the killers to be tracked down in russia.

"we must do everything" he said, to try the patrons who are in kyiv. for local residents who may have heard the blast, there is a sense of shock. for many muscovites, even after nearly three years of war, russia's war in ukraine is something that is happening a long way away from here, something they see on tv or in their phones, but the killing of a general here in moscow, that is a wake up call, and a sign that this war is very real and close to home. lisa who lives close by says she is scared. "when this kind of thing happens not just in your home town," she says, "or your own neighbourhood but in the building opposite, that is shocking." there's been no reaction yet from president putin, but the expectation is that after such a high profile killing in the russian capital, moscow will retaliate. up up until now the russian authorities have been pretty successful at normalising the war in ukraine. in convincing russians the war is going on somewhere in the background. don't worry, everything will be ok,

just get on with their lives. what happened today i think it's a real joke to the system and assigned to people here in the russian capital that in fact the front line runs through moscow. that is why i think when i spoke to people near the apartment but today, yes, there was concern, but there was also a deep sense of uncertainty about what might happen next. studio: steve rosenberg, thank you. the former archbishop of canterbury, george carey, has quit as a priest over his handling of a child abuse investigation in the church of england. our religion editor, aleem maqbool, is here now. aleem, what more can you tell us? this has just been confirmed to us in the last half an hour or so but it follows an investigation that we conducted and broadcast yesterday that was looking into a piece called david tudor. he was accused of sexual assault against teenage girls in the 1980s and at that point the church banned him forfive

in the 1980s and at that point the church banned him for five years. the church now says he should have been banned for life and it regrets that he wasn't. but we also found in our investigation was that george carey, who is archbishop of canterbury of the time, advocated for his return but also agreed to have his name wiped from a list of clergy who had been disciplined. we have now had it confirmed that lord carey was now 89 is given up what is called his permission to officiate, has given up ministry and a spokesman has confirmed it is a direct result of the investigation. aleem maqbool, thank you. here, campaigners have reacted angrily to the announcement this afternoon that women affected by changes to the state pension age won't be receiving compensation. the parliamentary ombudsman recommended earlier this year that thousands of women born in the 1950s should be compensated because they hadn't been adequately informed about the change — but ministers said such payments would be neither right nor affordable. here's coletta smith.

lots has changed since the babies of the 1950s entered the world. but decades later as those women cruised towards retirement, the biggest change was yet to come. the age to claim a state pension had been 60 four women and 65 for men. from 2010 the state pension age for women was due to gradually increase to 65 over the following decade. but then it was announced that process would happen by 2018. two years sooner than originally announced. meaning women like angela had their retirement plans pulled from underneath them. i retirement plans pulled from underneath them.— retirement plans pulled from underneath them. . , ., , ., underneath them. i was devastated. i had savinus underneath them. i was devastated. i had savings but _ underneath them. i was devastated. i had savings but i _ underneath them. i was devastated. i had savings but i had _ underneath them. i was devastated. i had savings but i had been _ underneath them. i was devastated. i had savings but i had been using - had savings but i had been using those up. it was just such a shock at that late notice. this

those up. it wasjust such a shock at that late notice. this march the parliamentary _ at that late notice. this march the parliamentary ombudsman - at that late notice. this march the parliamentary ombudsman said . at that late notice. this march the - parliamentary ombudsman said those changes had been unfair and women should be compensated. it is now a different political power in power to the coalition government that originally made the decision but today's announcement has been unequivocal. they have said that women had had enough information in advance. they say there is no evidence that women lost out directly financially as a result and in a refrain that we have become used to hearing for this government, they have said compensation would cost too much money. i do understand it course the — cost too much money. i do understand it course the concern _ cost too much money. i do understand it course the concern of— cost too much money. i do understand it course the concern of the _ cost too much money. i do understand it course the concern of the bus - cost too much money. i do understand it course the concern of the bus be - it course the concern of the bus be women but also of course i have to take into account whether it is right at the moment to impose further burden on the taxpayer. —— waspi women. further burden on the taxpayer. -- wasai women-— further burden on the taxpayer. -- wasiwomen. , ., waspi women. many of those impacted are furious to — waspi women. many of those impacted are furious to put _ waspi women. many of those impacted are furious to put it _ waspi women. many of those impacted are furious to put it mildly. _ waspi women. many of those impacted are furious to put it mildly. it _ waspi women. many of those impacted are furious to put it mildly. it is - are furious to put it mildly. it is absolutely _ are furious to put it mildly. it is absolutely shattered my faith that the government that we have actually governs _ the government that we have actually governs on _ the government that we have actually governs on behalf of the people. they— governs on behalf of the people. they don't. i don't know who they

they don't. idon't know who they govern— they don't. idon't know who they govern on— they don't. i don't know who they govern on behalf of but it's certainly— govern on behalf of but it's certainly not on behalf of of older people _ certainly not on behalf of of older --eole. ., , certainly not on behalf of of older --eole. . , ., certainly not on behalf of of older neale, ., , ., .. certainly not on behalf of of older --eole. ., , ., ~~ ., people. retirement age is now 66 for men and women. _ people. retirement age is now 66 for men and women. equal. _ people. retirement age is now 66 for men and women. equal. but - people. retirement age is now 66 for men and women. equal. but many i people. retirement age is now 66 for. men and women. equal. but many would say not necessarily fair but those women caught in the pincers of that shift i hadn't expected. colletta smith, bbc news. shoplifting costs businesses more than £2 billion a year, but only a fifth of crimes are prosecuted. so some shopkeepers are taking the law into their own hands, carrying out citizens arrests. bbc south west's charlotte cox reports from truro. a couple of christmas presents, is it? when martin gaunt�*s not on the shop floor serving customers who pay... so this lady here had actually stolen from us before. ..he's catching out those who don't. we recognised her when she came in. she was even wearing the same clothes. he's invested thousands in security

cameras to help tackle shoplifting. but he also relies on other methods. 0h, don't hit him. 0h, don't. get that one. yeah. this is martin after carrying out a citizen's arrest, and it gets heated. we know that using civil arrest works because we have seen a drop in the number of repeat offenders that we see. they will prefer to go somewhere else where they won't be troubled. he's carried out around 50. i've walked away before with bruised ribs and felt it for a few weeks. the police will very rarely, if ever, attend. so if you make a civil arrest, you should get police attendance. a tactic other shop owners rely on. lewis phelps says in a year, he's lost around £20,000 to burglaries and shoplifting. he's gone out looking for his stolen stock before,

finding it in second—hand shops. one owner helped him catch the alleged thief. we lay in wait at the store for him to return with his id. we more or less performed a citizen's arrest. we called the police and within about 20 minutes they turned up. and, yeah, we kind ofjust held him there and waited for the police to come and collect him. but some argue citizen's arrests are too risky. ultimately, you know, - the job of catching criminals, of arresting criminals is one for the police. _ i think what's important is that people never put themselves i into harm's way ultimately. the national police chiefs' council recommends that only trained security guards detain offenders. devon and cornwall police says it prioritises attendance where violence is involved or a shoplifter is detained. meanwhile, martin hopes that government actions such as making it a criminal offence to assault a shop worker will mean he's no longer seen as a soft target. yeah, ifeel desperate and ifeel like giving up. but if i give up the fight, eventually i'd probably have to give up the business as well. charlotte cox, bbc news.

the time is 18:17. our top story this evening. the father and stepmother of ten—year—old sara sharif are sentenced to life in prison for her murder. still to come... i'm here on the red carpet, as the stars arrive for the bbc�*s sports personality of the year. and coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news — next stop, the ashes. england's women, they're too strong for south africa, storming to victory in the one—off test in bloemfontein. across syria, people are slowly starting to re—build their shattered country after the fall of bashar al—assad, including in the city of homs. it saw some of the worst fighting, and the first of the sieges known as "surrender or starve", one of the regime's weapons of war. now, some of the families

and fighters forced out of the city a decade ago are returning. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet, who made regular trips to homs throughout the war, joined them. in 2014, we reported on the end of the old city siege. a thousand starving civilians rescued in a temporary truce, including a little girl. we've stayed in touch from afar since then. nice to see you. translation: they were the hardest times. - even now, when i think back, i wonder, how did we survive? it was a nightmare and it ended, thank god. but their suffering didn't stop. theirfather farhan raised his daughters on his own. their mother was killed when a rocket slammed

into their kitchen. all of them have been striving for a betterfuture. the starving girl we met is now studying food science at university. translation: | never. thought that i'd find a job here in the days of the regime. i always thought that i'd go to europe to work. but now there's a chance to live here with dignity. translation: we want a civilian government, l not even an islamic one. we want to live together, to coexist. we want whoever the president is to pack up and leave at the end of their term. we don't want another president for life. someone they build statues of. they insist we must visit their place of refuge in the siege. the jesuit monastery which opened its doors. a nativity scene now. the new syrian pastor finds christmas hope in their story. this is what is about the grotto where thejesus and the holy family,

they find a refuge. and this now comes to something very beautiful, very beautiful story, the story of farhan and his family. it's the story of homs, the city they called the capital of the revolution, now a crucible for syria's new start. lyse doucet, bbc news, homs. the reform party leader nigel farage has met elon musk at donald trump's mar—a—lago resort in florida. and mr farage has told the bbc tonight that the pair talked about the prospect of a donation from the world's richest man. our political editor chris mason is in westminster, how big a deal is this? hello, jane, the pictures have a blimey look at that to them, don't they, as you have the three men

around the table, there, but it is more than that, because this is the world's disrupt for in chief meeting british politic�*s disrupt for in chief, and it is the surest sign yet that elon musk is really keen to get involved in meddling as some see it as british politics so who did you have round the table? two billionaires and nigel farage, so nick candy, the re—form party's new treasurer and elon musk, elon musk is not shy when it comes to publicity and he is not shy about spending from his considerably deep pockets, so what did they talk about? they talked about campaigning threat yes, donald trump's campaigning strategy in the recent us election and yes, they talked about the prospects oaf a donation. we did discuss money, how could we not discuss money given the speculation — wild speculation, can i say, we did talk about money, and we will have ongoing negotiations on that. i mean he is fully, fully behind us,

he wants to help us. he is not opposed to the idea of giving us money, provided we can do it legally through uk companies. did you get to numbers? no, but it is an open — did you get to numbers? no, but it is an open negotiation, _ did you get to numbers? no, but it is an open negotiation, a _ is an open negotiation, a conversation we will have again. nigel— conversation we will have again. nigel le — conversation we will have again. nigel le farage talked down talk of a $100 million donation, but everyone if it was a lot less than that, it could still prove significant and we should say right now it is a handful of pictures on social media, and it isn't any money, but i think it might be something worth keeping an eye on, the government said it is looking at tightening the rules on foreign donations. all right. chris, thank you for now. chris mason. sue gray is expected to become a baroness. the former senior civil servant best known for investigating lockdown parties quit as keir starmer�*s chief of staff. a number of conservatives will by a pointed to the house of lords. an expert prosecution witness in the trial of the serial killer

lucy letby has denied changing his mind about the cause of death of three babies. yesterday, the barrister mark mcdonald said that dr dewi evans had "revised his opinion", but dr evans says that claim is "unsubstantiated, unfounded, and inaccurate". lucy letby is serving 15 whole—life prison terms for murdering seven babies and trying to kill seven others. the environment agency is warning that one in four properties in england could be at risk of flooding by 2050, because of climate change. at the moment, 6.3 million properties are considered at risk from rivers, seas or surface flooding, and the agency is projecting that will rise to eight million by the middle of the century. 1450 00:23: