our top story today — the mass rape trial that horrified france. verdicts and sentences have been handed down with 51 men facing jail. gisele pelicot is the woman at the centre of this crime, praised for her courage in foregoing her right to anonymity. boldly walking into court each day to describe the atrocities committed against her. for almost a decade, her then—husband — dominique pelicot — drugged and raped her. and invited dozens of other men to do the same. on thursday morning, dominique pelicot was found guilty of aggravated rape, guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of another woman, and guity of taking indecent images of his daughter

and his daughters—in—law. he was sentenced to 20 years injail. it was a stoic gisele pelicot in court, showing no emotion as guilty verdict after guilty verdict was read out against the men who abused and violated her. one defendant was aquitted of rape and aggravated rape, but was guilty of sexual assault. jail sentences ranged from three years to 15 years. gisele pelicot made a statement, saying she never regretted her decision to go public. translation: it is with deep emotion that i stand here before you today. this trial has been a very difficult ordeal. and at this moment i think first and foremost of my three children, david, caroline and florian. i also think of my grandchildren because they are the future, and it is also for them

that i led this fight, as well as my daughters in law, aurora and celine. i also think of all the otherfamilies affected by this tragedy. finally, i think of the unrecognised victims whose stories often remain in the shadows. i want you to know that we share the same fight. i would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout this ordeal. your support has overwhelmed me, and i drew my strength from this to come back every day to face these long days of hearings. i also thank the victim support associations. their unfailing support has been invaluable to me. to all the journalists who have followed this affairfrom the beginning, i would like to express my gratitude for the faithful, respectful and dignified treatment in which they reported these daily hearings. finally, to my lawyers, they know all the recognition and esteem i have for them for their work each stage of this painfuljourney. when the trial started last september, i wanted society

to be able to follow the debates that were held. i have never regretted this decision. i now have confidence in our ability to collectively build a future in which each woman and man can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding. andrew harding has been following the case throughout and reports now on the story leading up to this extraordinary trial and the verdicts and sentences we've had today. it all happened here in a quiet village in southern france. a retired electrician, dominique pellico, dominique pellicot, was experimenting with drugging his wife giselle, putting her to sleep. over the years, the drugs made her increasingly sick. she believed that she had a brain tumour. and for ten years she has been going from one doctor to the other and without knowing what was happening to her.

in fact, her husband was contacting local men online, inviting these strangers at night into the couple's bedroom and filming them as they abused giselle�*s drugged and unconscious body. it is possibly one of the most shocking aspects of this case, how easily he found 50, maybe 100 men in the neighbouring area willing to participate in this, in these scenarios. it's harrowing to think about. because it suggests that it's everywhere? yes. so who were these local men? we've seen them in masks outside the court. the french police eventually identified 50 of them and put them on trial alongside dominique pelicot. one man hasjust agreed to meet me anonymously, his daughter speaking here on his behalf, arguing that her father thought the couple had both consented. translation:

he did not understand how this could have happened. he was tricked by dominique pelicot. but your father admits that he raped her? he raped gisele pellico. yes, but not intentionally. maybe he should be punished. he should have realised. but ten years is too much. it's unfair. but in court, dominique pelicot said the others were as guilty as him. i'm a rapist. like the others in this courtroom. they knew everything. and then, crucially, came the grotesque videos filmed by dominic pelicot — hard evidence that is so rare in rape trials. in the video, you can hear gisele pelicot snoring, so it's absolutely obvious that she is sleeping. and for the defendants, it's very complicated for them to defend themselves

and to pretend, well, i didn't rape her, with this kind of proof. over the course of this trial, gisele pelicot has in some ways eclipsed the accused, an inspiration to so many women. it doesn't take, you know, a lawyer. it doesn't take a minister. it doesn't take a government official to make an impact for women's rights. it just takes a woman with guts. gisele pelicot could have remained anonymous. instead, she embraced a public role. the victim who refused to feel shame. andrew harding, bbc news, avignon. dominique pelicot�*s lawyer, beatrice savaro, told the media her client will use the next ten days to make a decision about whether to appeal. i think that we are now part of the... we have to assume the responsibility of dominique

pelicot and the dignity of madame pelicot. i will decide after ten years. so the 29th of december, i will decide whether yes or no, we will appeal this verdict, which was given, handed down. and i think i was saying at the beginning of the debates that mr pelicot was not the conductor, the chief of orchestra of this, and the verdict condemned conductor and making a difference between him and the other musicians, if you like, of this orchestra. and we have not the authorisation to criticise the decisions made by the justice, by the court, and we will maybe appeal. but again, i repeat, we will use this time of ten days, which we have to make the decision whether we should again be subjected to popular jury in the months to come.

that's what our first reactions. that's our first reactions. thank you. in the same attitude that i've just told you that he's a bit confused by what's happened. and again, i will see that with the prison, which will affect his future. the de facto leader of syria has told the bbc his country is exhausted by war, and no threat either to its neighbours, or the west. ahmed al—sharaa, leads hayat tahrir al sham, the domininat group in the rebel alliance that toppled president bashar al assad less than two weeks ago. in recent days, he's been trying to calm fears that the new regime might restrict the rights of women. he says the group is no

longer linked to al-anda. many syrians, though, are sceptical. ahmed al—sharaa has been speaking tojeremy bowen. the de facto leader of syria, ahmed al—sharaa, chose to do the interview in the presidential palace built by the assads. he told me he wasn't surprised that the old regime collapsed so quickly. syrians, he said, needed to keep calm to tackle all the problems they face. you've made a lot of promises, you've said you will respect the mosaic of different sectarian groups here in syria, minorities as well. are you going to keep those promises? translation: the syrian . population has lived together for thousands of years. we're going to discuss all of it. have

dialogue and make sure everyone is represented. the old regime always played on sectarian divisions, but we won't. we were welcomed in all the big cities by all the sects. i think the revolution can contain everybody. so this isn't going to be some kind of a caliphate, or you're not going to make syria into a country like afghanistan? because you know there are people who say that maybe you want to behave like the taliban. translation: there are many differences between _ syria and the taliban. the way we govern is different. afghanistan is a tribal community. syria is completely different. the peoplejust don't think in the same way. the syrian government and their ruling system will be in line with syria's history and culture. so the culture of syria includes rights for women, it includes education for women, it includes tolerance for people drinking alcohol? is that all acceptable to you? translation: when it comes to

women's education, of course. . we have had universities in idlib for more than eight years. i think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%. and alcohol? there are many things ijust don't have the right to talk about, because they are legal issues. there will be a syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution. they will decide, and any ruler or president will have to follow the law. let's talk about wider issues that you face. first of all, this country is broken. there is a massive amount of destruction. the economy is destroyed. there are huge debts. how do you begin to start dealing with all of that when the country is under sanctions, and when major

powers around the world and the united nations say that you are the leader of a terrorist group? translation: that's a political classification. we haven't committed any crimes that justify calling us a terrorist group. in the last i4 years, we haven't targeted any civilians or civilian areas or civilian targets. i understand some countries will be worried by that designation, but it's not true. now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted, because they were targeted at the old regime. the victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way. that is the new de facto leader of syria. president macron has arrived on the french indian ocean island of mayotte which was devastated by cyclone chido last weekend. thousands of people are still classed as missing, with tens of thousands without access to water. french authorities say they aim to deliver more than 100 tonnes of food

to the territory soon. officials say the water system has been partially restored to half of the population — but half of the territory remains without power. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in mayotte, mayenijones. she told me how president macron's visit to the island is being received by locals. i mean, obviously people see this as a strong signal on his part that he's come here and not only stayed the day, but apparently he also plans to overnight. i think that there's a lot of respect for that stuff, but i think he's also been criticised for not having done enough so far. it's been five days since the cyclone hit this island. a lot of devastation all around us. it's immediately apparent as you fly into the island. even right behind me, you can see what looks like a pile of rubbish was actually two houses five days ago. so lots of people here are taking matters into their own hands and rebuilding things. but they're also saying that one of the reasons why there's

been so much devastation is because there's been a lot of under—investment in mayotte. that infrastructure here isn't as good as it should be, that this is france's poorest department and it's in dire need of more support. and what sort of support in the short term does the territory need, and what's it looking for from president macron, who's there now but also from the rest of the world? i mean, the key thing they need at the moment is shelter, as i mentioned behind me, is an example of the kind of housing that was here. a lot of people live in informal houses made with corrugated iron roofs. obviously, in those high speed winds we saw over the weekend, 220km an hour, those roofs went flying off. a lot of them injured people. so they need medical support. they need shelter. they need food and water. but mayotte finds itself in a very tricky situation. it's at the centre

of a big debate around immigration in france. a lot of the population here, about 100,000 people, are illegal migrants trying to apply for asylum to france. and so lots of people in france feel that they should perhaps not get that support, because they fear that that will encourage more migrants to make the dangerous journey here. in the meantime, though, people here need aid and they say that they can't afford to wait for it. and in terms of the death toll and the number of people still missing, where are we? just give us the latest figures. so officials are keen to emphasise that this current death toll, which stands around 22 people, isn't actually probably going to be the final one. and that's because, again, of that issue of people living in informal settlements, people living in shanty towns high up on the hills where the winds really hit the hardest. when we came in, we could see the landscape up on the hills. the trees were almost horizontal, and so a lot of those houses up there got smashed to pieces, and a lot of those bodies haven't been recovered. people are complaining of smells in the area, so they think that once the rescue operation

gets further underway, they will uncover more bodies. and unfortunately, that death toll may go up higher. interest rates will remain at 4.75%. despite three of the nine members of the rate—setting committee wanting to reduce the interest rates to 4.5% and this opens the door to a rate cut as early as february. we can take you to the united nations secretary—general who is talking about syria at the moment and the dramatic changes we have witnessed, saying the un should be focused on facilitating political transition in syria and that the transition must be inclusive, credible and peaceful. inclusive, credible and peaceful-— inclusive, credible and eaceful. ~ ., , inclusive, credible and eaceful. ., , ., peaceful. we all wish you and our peaceful. we all wish you and your family — peaceful. we all wish you and your family are _ peaceful. we all wish you and your family are very - peaceful. we all wish you and your family are very happy . your family are very happy

holiday _ one man was urging everyone he talked _ one man was urging everyone he talked to— one man was urging everyone he lalked to in— one man was urging everyone he talked to in damascus— one man was urging everyone he talked to in damascus to - one man was urging everyone he talked to in damascus to attend i talked to in damascus to attend a major— talked to in damascus to attend a major syrian _ talked to in damascus to attend a major syrian dialogue - talked to in damascus to attend a major syrian dialogue on - talked to in damascus to attend a major syrian dialogue on the i a major syrian dialogue on the way forward _ a major syrian dialogue on the way forward. i'm _ a major syrian dialogue on the way forward. i'm sure - a major syrian dialogue on the way forward. i'm sure you - way forward. i'm sure you summ— way forward. i'm sure you support this _ way forward. i'm sure you support this notion - way forward. i'm sure you support this notion so - way forward. i'm sure you i support this notion so when way forward. i'm sure you - support this notion so when is it going — support this notion so when is it going to— support this notion so when is it going to happen _ support this notion so when is it going to happen and - support this notion so when is it going to happen and how. support this notion so when is it going to happen and how is| it going to happen and how is it going to happen and how is it going — it going to happen and how is it going to— it going to happen and how is it going to happen? - it going to happen and how is it going to happen? we - it going to happen and how is it going to happen?— it going to happen? we are obviously _ it going to happen? we are obviously in _ it going to happen? we are obviously in the _ it going to happen? we are obviously in the very - it going to happen? we are - obviously in the very beginning of a transition process. what we have been telling the authorities, the caretaker authorities, the caretaker authorities, and the other different syrian entities, is that it different syrian entities, is thatitis different syrian entities, is that it is absolutely central to have a process of dialogue thatis to have a process of dialogue that is inclusive, that all communities of syria feel part of, and that will naturally

lead us to a process linked to the security council resolution, to a future constitution and two elections in the long term. at the present moment i think we are all in consultation with different sectors and it is difficult to define a moment where inclusive dialogue will start but i believe it will be essential to do this as quickly as possible. essential to do this as quickly as possible-— as possible. studio: antonio guterres com _ as possible. studio: antonio guterres com of _ as possible. studio: antonio guterres com of the - as possible. studio: antonio guterres com of the un - guterres com of the un secretary—general, talking about syria, and saying that israeli air strikes in the area have been a violation of syrian sovereignty. he says they should only be un peacekeepers in the golan heights which is

where the israeli troops have been. he says syrian sovereignty and territorial unity must be fully restored. that is the un secretary—general talk about what is happening in syria. —— talking. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

president putin of russia has been taking part in what's become something of an annual tradition in the run up to christmas — a marathon news conference lasting several hours in which he takes questions from journalists, tv viewers and invited guests. although the questions are very carefully vetted in advance. during the event, president putin said he had not yet met syria's ousted president assad, but does have plans to.

he also declined to say how close russia is to achieving its goals in ukraine. he said compromises and —— russia is prepared for compromises and talks over ukraine but only if ukraine is prepared to do the same. the annual water bill is going to increase over the next several years to help fix the problems with water pollution and shortages. the regulator said water companies could increase bills by 20% to improve services and the environment that would be roughly £20 per year per household. in october the water firms said they wanted an average rise of 40% morning the regulator said bills could rise by an average of 36%. customers could pay

more depending on where they live. the regulator said it is prepared to fine thames water £18 million for paying unjustified dividends to shareholders. the company is £16 billion in debt and needs a £3 billion loan from creditors to keep operating beyond march. chris waters is the price review director at ofwat. bills will rise by — review director at ofwat. bills will rise by £31— review director at ofwat. bills will rise by £31 per _ review director at ofwat. bills will rise by £31 per year - review director at ofwat. e: ii; will rise by £31 per year over the next five years to find record levels of investment, £104 billion, the biggest five—year investment programme in waste water since privatisation, that is needed to safeguard the waters and rivers and to improve the resilience of our water supplies and you have reported from southern water about the importance of that this morning, and to get companies to raise their game on their

day—to—day performance in areas that matter to customers, and the environment. bills will rise to find that and i know thatis rise to find that and i know that is a concern for many customers and part of myjob involves engaging with customers and their representatives and i have heard those concerns first hand and i understand them and that is why today we are also announcing record levels of support for customers. we have introduced controls to guarantee that customers money will be ring—fenced for investment and it will not be used for other things. if that investment is not delivered, it will be clawed back and returned to customers. we are also more than doubling the support, financial support to customers in need of a helping hand, across england and wales, that will rise from 4% of customers to 9%, giving an extra 1.5 millions customers the support they need. on tuesday the government announced a doubling of conversation that customers can

receive in the result that they receive in the result that they receive poor service from their water companies, we announced our intention to revamp the support that companies give the most vulnerable customers through the priority services register. and in february we put in new condition in the licenses of water companies requiring them to engage in the support for customers, and if companies do not meet the performance commitments they have made to us, they will be penalised and the money will automatically be returned to customers in the form of lower bills. we have find thames water £18 billion for inappropriately paying dividends. on two occasions. —— £18 million. they paid a dividend of almost £38 million to its parent company which we did not feel was justified to its parent company which we did not feel wasjustified by their performance, and then in earlier this year thames water paid a dividend of £130 million

also to its parent company that we have determined was a intercompa ny we have determined was a intercompany loan.- we have determined was a intercompany loan. chris waters there, intercompany loan. chris waters there. the _ intercompany loan. chris waters there, the price _ intercompany loan. chris waters there, the price review- there, the price review director at the water regulator ofwat. hello. today is colder but brighter than it's been over recent days, and we're going to continue with that really changeable weather in the run up to christmas. so yes, colder today. bit of rain tomorrow. the weekend looks particularly windy and then the mild air returns in time for christmas. so, very up and down. a little bit milder tomorrow but breezy. into saturday, yes, some mild air but some strong winds. those strong winds continue into sunday, but they're coming in from a north westerly direction. so colder for a time and then milder again by monday. so yo yoing temperatures

at the moment. this afternoon we've got a few showers around some western areas in particular. sunshine for many of us — 4 or 5 degrees. so feeling quite chilly in the north. could reach 6 or 7 towards the south. through this evening and tonight the next area of cloud works in for northern ireland and scotland. the wind picks up to some rain by the end of the night. clearer skies and lighter winds for central and eastern parts of england, where we could see a touch of frost first thing tomorrow morning. but that mild weather starts to move its way in from the northwest. this band of rain will track slowly southwards and eastwards across the uk through friday, so clearing out of northern ireland and scotland during the afternoon. sitting across northern england, wales and the southwest. sunshine and scattered showers follow from the northwest. i think the far southeast staying dry for quite a good part of the day. temperatures tomorrow a little bit warmer than today, so around about 8 to 11

degrees. then friday night into saturday the next fairly deep area of low pressure moves to the north of the uk. lots of isobars, especially windy. spell of weather across the far north west. we could see gusts in excess of 60mph, perhaps even as strong as 80 miles an hour across the western isles here. further south, cloud and outbreaks of rain slowly clearing southwards, so sunnier spells returning later on. but it is going to be a mild day i think for most of us, especially in the south, could see 13 or 14, but into sunday that low pressure just moves a bit further east and that opens the doors for this north westerly flow of air. so sunshine and showers on sunday, some of them have a little bit of a wintry feel. so some hail, perhaps some sleet mixed in. again, gusts of wind, especially in the west, more than 60 miles an hour. so a really windy spell of weather right through the course of the weekend. colder on sunday compared to saturday — we're looking at only 6 or 7 degrees for many of us. sir keir starmer is about

to face an end—of—term grilling from senior mps after an opening few months we'll take you there live shortly. first, though, let's speak to our political correspondent, iain watson. expecting the prime minister to get to the end of term grilling before the break—up for christmas and the economy, growth will be matters they are talking about, obviously because since we heard inflation is going up, interest rates being held at 4.75%. what rates being held at 4.75%. what can exoect? _ rates being held at 4.75%. what can exoect? it _ rates being held at 4.75%. what can expect? it will _ rates being held at 4.75%. what can expect? it will be _ rates being held at 4.75%. what can expect? it will be 90 - can expect? it will be 90 minutes of an apparent grilling, though it may turn out to be just a basting grilling, though it may turn out to bejust a basting he gets because he will be well prepared on the topics under discussion. you mentioned economic growth will be discussed as well as public services and international security. there are difficult questions at all of these areas, and obviously growth,

our economy is not growing. to some extent, it is receding a little bit, so that is a difficult question. the effect on business confidence of putting up national insurance on employers is bound to come up, i would on employers is bound to come up, iwould imagine. also when it comes to public services, what they are going to really be its plans for reform and international fares, lots of questions, over mauritius and diego garcia. perhaps a better president try and what his presidency will mean for nato and possibly also about our defence budget and when he will get to this ambition of 2.5%. he said it is a guarantee but has not given a timescale, 2.5% of gdp, i should say. difficult questions, but equally, boris johnson teetering on the brink after the partygate revelations, prime ministers tend to be well prepared. although they are grilled effectively by the most senior

backbench mps from all parties in the house of commons, nonetheless, they do not get very long to do follow—up questions, so if the prime minister can keep talking, perhaps some of the inquisitors may run out of time. so we should have a bit of expectation management that keir starmer will be used to legal processes, courtrooms, and this when he will get cross—examined, but it will not necessarily be for quite as long or as intensely as you might imagine. 50 long or as intensely as you might imagine. so expectation management _ might imagine. so expectation management there. _ might imagine. so expectation management there. we - might imagine. so expectation management there. we are i management there. we are expecting that to happen just within the next few minutes. just checking the live shot, not quite ready yet in the liaison committee. we expect them to be talking for about an hour and a half. we arejust seeing some live shots coming through, so i may have to interrupt you. we will cross over life to the liaison committee now. i over life to the liaison committee now. i think even before the — committee now. i think even before the liaison _ committee now. i think even| before the liaison committee was fully established ten days ago. — was fully established ten days ago. so — was fully established ten days

ago, so we appreciate your commitment to scrutiny and transparency and