crowd boos. 50 other men are also found guilty — most of them are jailed. some are booed as they're bundled out of court. across france tonight, people reacting to this historic case. those relatively light sentences, all those guilty verdicts, and of course the incredible role played by gisele pelicot herself. and our other main stories on tonight's programme... labour party grandee lord peter mandelson is expected to be the new uk ambassador to the united states. crowd shouts. a furious reception for president macron on the french indian ocean territory of mayotte, which has been devastated by a cyclone. a marathon four—hour press conference by president putin — in which he stoutly defends his role at home and abroad. #jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.#

and it's officially the world's oldest choir — the care home residents who've set a guinness world record. on newsnight at 10.30pm tonight, we'll bring you fresh insight on the stories of the day, with big interviews and our regular panel of newsnighters — and of course, look at what the papers are saying about tomorrow's news. good evening. the mass rape trial which has stunned france and the world has ended with 51 men all being found guilty. all but two of them are in jail tonight for what they did to this one woman — 72 year old gisele pelicot. herformer husband, whom she married in 1973, got the longest sentence — 20 years — for drugging his wife and allowing dozens of men to rape her repeatedly over a ten year period. gisele pelicot said she had waived her right to anonymity

during the three month trial so that society could see what was happening. our correspondent andrew harding reports now from the court in avignon in the south of france. the accused arrived early at court, faces masked as usual. some with their prison bags already packed. a few showing open contempt for this trial. but the crowd here in avignon and the forest of cameras were not here for the men. this trial has in so many ways now become all about this woman — gisele pelicot. herface at least seemed serene this morning. the rape victim who refused to feel shame. inside the crowded courtroom, thejudge quickly got on with the business of the day. verdicts first, then sentencing for all 51 men. dominique pelicot sat quietly

in his glass cage as the judge turned to address him. translation: the defendants will stand up in turn _ to hear the verdicts. mr pelicot first. the court finds him guilty of aggravated rape. inside the courtroom here, the verdicts have been coming at a furious pace. guilty, guilty, guilty. dominique pelicot hasjust stood up to be told that he will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum here in france for rape. he showed no emotion, nor did his former wife gisele, sitting quietly on the other side of the courtroom. outside the courthouse, some people celebrated the news. crowd chants. but others were angry that many of the men got lighter sentences than anticipated. "shame," they shouted. back inside, dominique pelicot�*s lawyer told me her client

was considering an appeal. i asked what his mood was like. "fatalistic," she replied. "the way he's always been throughout the trial." and then, after a pause, gisele pelicot emerged to give her reaction. translation: it is with deep emotion that i speak to you today. _ this trial was a very difficult ordeal. i think first of all of my three children, david, caroline and florian. i also think of my grandchildren, because they are the future, and it's also for them that i have led this fight. i want to express my deepest gratitude to all the people who have supported me throughout this ordeal. i was overwhelmed by your support and from it i drew the strength to come back each day to face these court hearings.

i wanted to open the doors of this trial last september so that society could see what was happening. i have never regretted this decision. i have confidence now in our capacity, collectively, to find a betterfuture in which men and women alike can live harmoniously together with respect and mutual understanding. thank you. it's half a century now since the pelicots met and fell in love. she described him as a perfect husband. but at a supermarket in 2020, dominique pelicot was caught in this footage filming up women's skirts. police soon discovered computer files, with other videos, proving he'd been inviting dozens of strangers to rape his wife after he drugged her. in prison, he was assessed by a psychiatrist. translation: mr pelicot desired total control over his wife. -

he wanted to reduce her to an object, a possession to be used for his satisfaction. then he could lend this object to other people. and to do all of that, he needed to drug her. and these were not his first crimes. dna evidence soon proved pelicot had begun attacking women years earlier. he is being investigated for the 1991 rape and murder of sophie narme, which he denies. he also took indecent images of his daughter caroline, who was in court today, along with her two brothers. she's convinced her father also raped her. this afternoon, pelicot and most of the other rapists were taken away to begin their sentences. among them firemen, a journalist, a nurse, all ages, three quarters of them fathers. there was a moment of tension outside when one of the defence

lawyers taunted the crowd... calling them hysterical, then swearing at them. here comes gisele pelicot now, leaving the courthouse for the last time. she has achieved something quite extraordinary here. this courageous public stance — the impact of that will surely ripple through society here, perhaps for decades. she could, like most rape victims, have chosen to remain anonymous at the trial. instead, listen to the reaction she now receives. cheering. she wanted to change attitudes, and perhaps she has. singing. "rise up," they sing. and with that, madame pelicot, engulfed by gratitude, walks on. and we can speak to andrew now.

you have called this case extraordinary. it shocked so many people around the world, then you talk about attitudes. is it likely to change anything in france? i think it will in practical terms. there is going to be a lot of pressure now on the government to invest more in investigations into rapes and alleged rapes, also to invest more in test kits, so that women who believe they've been drugged, for instance, can quickly gather the sort of evidence that so necessary at trial. in terms of attitudes, you still talk and hear from a lot of french men who feel like a lot of the men who were found guilty tonight, that actually this thing has been exaggerated, that the issue of consent is more muddled thanit issue of consent is more muddled than it was presented, but at the same time i think this is a huge opportunity to challenge those sorts of views. this is a subject, a trial, that has been so much discussed, in bars, at kitchen tables, across the country, and it

has shone a light on these issues of consent and of particularly drugging in order to rape, than a lot of people misunderstood, they thought they were happening in bars, in restaurants and in the wilderness, if you like, where rapes would happen in dark parks. instead, it's been proven that these things happen in people's homes, by people they know, and that will shift a lot of opinions. know, and that will shift a lot of oinions. �* ., ~ i. , opinions. andrew, thank you very much, opinions. andrew, thank you very much. our _ opinions. andrew, thank you very much, our correspondent - opinions. andrew, thank you very much, our correspondent andrewj much, our correspondent andrew harding there. if you have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, details of help and support are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline. or you can call for free at any time to hear recorded information on 0800 077 077. the veteran labour politician lord mandelson is expected to be the new uk ambassador to the united states. helen catt is in westminster for us. helen, how much of a surprise is

this? what does it say about the government's priorities? it’s this? what does it say about the government's priorities?- this? what does it say about the government's priorities? it's not a total surprise _ government's priorities? it's not a total surprise in _ government's priorities? it's not a total surprise in that _ government's priorities? it's not a total surprise in that lord - total surprise in that lord mandelson�*s name has been touted as a possibility for thisjob mandelson�*s name has been touted as a possibility for this job for some time, but it's unusual in that he has a political appointment, not someone who is coming from more of the civil service background, and that appears to be a very deliberate choice made in light of the incoming trump administration. lord mandelson is well known for being a very skilled political operator, good at dealing with tricky relationships, and he also has experience of trade, he is a former business secretary, a former eu trade commissioner, and sir keir starmer was pretty clear today about the need for the uk to avoid the sort of tariffs that donald trump has been talking about imposing on us imports. the government also wants to tread a careful line between keeping a good relationship with the eu and with the us, and a government source said that sending lord mandelson to washington, someone who is close to

the prime minister with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade, showed how important the relationship with the trump administration was. this appointment isn't going to go down well with everyone. lord mandelson remains a divisive figure within labour, particularly to the left, but there doesn't seem to have been a bit of pitch rolling with the americans at least, the white house and the trump administration had already been informed. . ~ administration had already been informed. ., ~ , ., administration had already been informed. . ~' , ., ., informed. thank you, helen catt there. and paddy o'connell will have more on this on newsnight on bbc two shortly. can peter mandelson deal with donald trump or will he end up being fired? in that case from france, how can we learn from the remarkable strength of gisele pelicot? kancys we hope on newsnight, the iplayer, on bbc news and bbc at10:30pm. newsnight, the iplayer, on bbc news and bbc at 10:30pm.— and bbc at 10:30pm. thank you, padd . president putin delivered a carefully honed, positive message at his marathon end—of—year press conference, on russia's role

in syria, in ukraine, and on his own contribution — in his words — to pulling russia back from the abyss. this last was in response to a question by the bbc�*s steve rosenberg, who brings you this report. it would have been hard not to notice vladimir putin today. his marathon end—of—year event was live on all the main tv channels in russia. it was half phone—in, half press conference. he used it to make his first public comments on events in syria, with a message for those calling the fall of assad a blow to russia. translation: whoever would - like to portray russia as weakened, i would like to recall the words of a famous person and writer, who once said, the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. a message too for donald trump — putin was ready for talks, any time. after more than four hours, it was my turn to ask a question.

"exactly 25 years ago," i said, "when boris yeltsin resigned and handed you power, he told you, take care of russia. but what of the significant losses suffered in your so—called special military operation in ukraine and the ukrainian troops now in russia's kursk region, and sanctions and high inflation? do you think you've taken care of russia?" translation: yes, i haven't just taken care of it. - i think we've pulled back from the edge of the abyss. with everything that was happening to russia before that, we were heading towards a complete, total loss of our sovereignty, and without sovereignty, russia cannot exist as an independent state. from the public, there were video messages asking putin to fix their everyday problems. from the president, there was praise for russian soldiers

fighting against ukraine. so what did we learn from four hours of live televised putin? that in his mind, he can't put a foot wrong. events in syria are not a defeat. the war in ukraine is going russia's way. yes, putin admits there are problems, but the whole point of this event was to convince russians that he has the solutions. and when it was over, well, it wasn't over for me. i was mobbed by russian media wanting my reaction, and in this case, accusing me of a provocation. this is what happens if you've managed to ask the kremlin leader a question. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. in the us, the suspect accused of killing the healthcare chief executive brian thompson has appeared in court in new york — on charges of using a firearm to commit murder, as well as stalking. luigi mangione was being held

in pennsylvania, where he'd been arrested and was transported to new york to face the new federal charges. nada tawfik is in new york for us. what has emerged? having dropped his fiuht auainst what has emerged? having dropped his fight against extradition, _ what has emerged? having dropped his fight against extradition, luigi - fight against extradition, luigi mangione was handed back to new york in dramatic fashion. he was flown here from pennsylvania where he was ultimately spotted by a mcdonald's employee and officials were keen to make an example of him. parading him infront of make an example of him. parading him in front of the cameras as he returned to the city of his alleged crimes. he was shackled and flanked by heavily armed law enforcement, lines of them, and even followed by a new york's mayor eric adams. eric adams said he wanted to send a loud and clear message that this act of terrorism, as he called it, would not be tolerated in the city. luigi

mangione, the 26—year—old, you could see his face, looking around trying to absorb the gravity of the moment. he was ultimately brought here to the federal courthouse in new york to hear the charges against him formally. he didn't enter a plea but he did say that he understood the charges against him. so he will next appear in court in mid—january and we will see if he tries to get out on bail there, but something like that would be highly unlikely in a case of this gravity.— a 26—year—old man accused of murdering a mother and two of her daughters has been further charged with rape. kyle clifford is accused of stabbing to death carol hunt — the wife of bbc racing commentator john hunt — and fatally shooting 28—year—old hannah hunt and louise, who was 25, with a crossbow at their home in hertfordshire injuly. he is also accused of raping louise on the same day. he denies all charges but has not yet given a plea

to the rape allegation. uk interest rates will remain at 4.75% after the bank of england voted to keep borrowing costs unchanged. the bank said it thought the economy had performed worse than expected, with no growth at all between october and december. inflation was also higher than the bank's target. rates are still expected to fall gradually next year, with the first cut possibly coming in february. downing street says the prime minister has confidence in the treasury minister, tulip siddiq, after she was named in a corruption investigation in bangladesh. the investigation is based on accusations that tulip siddiq's family embezzled almost £4 billion from infrastructure projects there. tulip siddiq's responsibilities as a minister include tackling corruption in the uk's financial markets. our investigations correspondentjoe pike reports. the minister responsible for tackling financial corruption

has now been accused of it. tulip siddiq isn'tjust the city ministerand a labour mp. she's also the niece of bangladesh's deposed former prime minister sheikh hasina, widely seen as an autocrat. now tulip siddiq has been accused of helping her aunt broker a multi—billion pound deal with vladimir putin in 2013 for a nuclear power plant. this was before tulip siddiq was an mp. labour has previously said she was there in a family group and had no official role. but yesterday, court documents from bangladesh, seen by the bbc, named her as one of a number of people subject to an anti—corruption investigation in relation to that power plant. the documents allege that tulip siddiq and others were instrumental in managing the affairs and coordinating meetings with russian government officials regarding the rooppur nuclear power plant project. it goes on to say that credible information has surfaced indicating that 1a people, including tulip siddiq, illegally embezzled and smuggled 5 billion usd.

this is the power plant in question. the bbc understands tulip siddiq has not been contacted by any bangladeshi authority in connection with any investigation. allies of tulip siddiq say these claims are trumped up and politically motivated. i put that to one of her aunt's opponents, who originally made these allegations. your critics say this legal action is politically motivated. are they right? absolutely not. because the legal action is asking for investigation. legal action is not asking, you know, sort of to, to punish tulip siddiq or do anything against tulip siddiq. the minimum requirement should be a thorough investigation, and that's what we're asking for. asking for an investigation cannot be politically motivated anywhere in the world. the conservatives argue this is really a problem for the prime minister. i think it leaves real questions about keir starmer'sjudgement. you know, a few weeks ago, we had a convicted fraudster at the cabinet table. now the anti—corruption minister is named in a corruption investigation. scary times.

number 10 say tulip siddiq denies the allegations, keir starmer has full confidence in her and she's not involved in any government policy related to bangladesh. what, though, is slightly awkward, is that as city minister, tulip siddiq is responsible for tackling economic crime, money laundering and illicit finance. whatever the truth of the allegations concerning tulip siddiq, human rights organisations are likely to continue investigating her aunt, who led an increasingly violent and repressive regime. joe pike, bbc news, westminster. distraught and furious citizens of the french indian ocean territory of mayotte jeered and shouted at president emmanuel macron during his visit to the cyclone—devastated country. mr macron promised them that mayotte would be rebuilt. dozens of people have been confirmed dead, but officials say the final death toll is likely to be in the hundreds or even thousands. our correspondent mayeni jones has reached the remote island with the french military

who are delivering aid, and has just sent this report. an entire island destroyed. most of mayotte's housing is informal, simple structures made of wood and corrugated iron. cyclone chido's140 mph winds proved devastating. 73—year—old ali lived in one of those houses when the cyclone struck. his daughter watched powerless as the walls and ceilings of their house caved in. she says she hid with her kids under the bed, but her father couldn't hide. he got hit behind the head by a plank and collapsed, and she had to wait for the cyclone to calm down before she could help him. everywhere you look in mayotte, there are huge amounts of destruction. while some people have been able to find space in shelters, others are having to make do in makeshift accommodation or even sleep out in the open. and there are now some who have decided to take matters

into their own hands. zinedine is trying to rebuild his family's home which was flattened by the cyclone. he says he is trying to do what he can. even though he isn't a builder, he wants to do it himself because he doesn't know if the authorities will help. french president emmanuel macron visited the island today and met residents. he was keen to appease their concerns, but he was met translation: i know it is not enough, this applies couldn't be organised beforehand, it was impossible. his seech beforehand, it was impossible. his speech was drowned out by boos and jeers. many blame him for under investing in mayotte's infrastructure. arguing the damage wouldn't have been as extensive if it was better funded. scientists argue that climate change

will only make cyclones in this part of the world stronger. leaving islands like mayotte even more vulnerable. mayenijones, bbc news, mayotte. hospices in england are to receive £126 million over the next two years, to improve end—of—life care. the government says it's the biggest investment in the sector for generations. our health editor hugh pym is here. will it be enough? the hospice sector has broadly welcomed this deal unveiled by wes streeting on a visit to a children's hospice. they say it will stabilise their finances for a couple of years. back in august, visiting one hospice which was planning job cuts because of a shortage of money, they were not the only one. then we had revelations that hundreds of hospice beds were not being occupied because there wasn't enough money to run them, then came the budget and the increase in national insurance contributions for employers, real concerns for hospices. hospice uk pushed very hard for an urgent financial intervention from the

government. now we have this deal. it is slightly complicated, it is mining for buildings and equipment so hospice managers will try to reallocate resources to the front line but it still leaves charities, gps, care homes and others also wanting support for their national insurance contributions. i think you can expect further announcements in the not—too—distant future. can expect further announcements in the not-too-distant future.— the not-too-distant future. thank ou. it's been announced that water bills will rise by an average of £86 in england and wales, from april. the regulator ofwat has said the rise will pay for upgrades to infrastructure and a reduction in sewage discharges. it comes as thousands of people in southampton and south hampshire have been left without water today. southern water says it's "very sorry" for the disruption. our business editor, simonjack, reports. if you wanted an example of the problems facing the water industry, this is it. nearly 60,000 homes around the southampton area are left without water supply, with many schools and businesses forced to shut.

southern water said the problem had been caused by a technical issue, leaving many customers high and dry. it's really frustrating, we can't do anything. we can't flush our toilets, we can't, you know, have showers, nothing. so, yeah, it's not very nice. quite frustrating, especially because the little ones' school is closed as well and it's nativity season. i'm a plumber, i can't even get water! - and those are southern water customers who are facing the biggest increase in bills over the next five years, with a hike of 53%. debt—laden thames water's increase of 35% is short of the 53% they asked for. the ones in blue are for water only not waste as well, and bear in mind these figures are before inflation so actual bills are likely to be higher still. the bill rises will help pay for over £100 billion of investment in new infrastructure, like this new storm drain. investment the industry says has been hampered by below inflation bill rises since 2010. we as an industry have got it wrong

and we put our hands up. we now have the most transparent system in the world, we've got a plan to put it right but we can only put it right if we give it the investment we need. and for the last five years and five years before that, ofwat have systematically cut those investments so that bills have been falling each and every year in real terms. how come so many of our waterways, our rivers, our beaches, our entire water system are in such disrepair? is it poorly run companies, overpaid executives, greedy shareholders, bad regulation, climate change? in truth, it's some of all of those things over the years, but we are where we are. in the privatised system, it's hard to see how you fix it without putting up bills very significantly. the government knows people will balk at higher bills but are keen to stress they've taking measures to make sure higher bills don't trickle into dividends and salaries. how much savings would - you have in your household? debt charities are warning these bill increase will heap further pressure on struggling households and are urging them to seek help. we have had a 25% increase

in clients with debt issues this year alone. i don't think people are aware that if they contact their water companies, they can, actually, there's quite a lot of help that they can give, particularly if they are on a low income or particularly if they've got a disability. the government has ordered a complete and independent review of the water industry and the mess it's in, but that won't come in time to change the higher bills coming in april. simon jack, bbc news. and you find out by how much your bill will rise on the bbc website — just head to the business section. a group of care home residents — average age 94 — have set a new guinness world record for being the world's oldest choir. our correspondent phil mackie watched them in action in stratford—upon—avon. # good tidings we bring # to you and your kin...# warming up in the green room. this was going to be a very big day in some very long lives. all 17 singing nonagenarians live

in residential care homes. known as the prime timers, the choir was getting used to some late life fame. chris, at 91, is a mere youngster. in the first place, when they just talked about it in the home, i thought, do i want to be part of the oldest anything? and then when i heard them practising, i thought, well, i do like to sing. i love choral music. i decided to come along and enjoyed it. it's been good fun. # here we are with a song to sing. then the big moment came, with a bit of stage fright at first before they got into the swing of things. # it's christmas. around half of the members of the group have dementia, and singing is a great help. one thing that people always say is that they might

forget your name or your face, but they never forget how you make them feel. when they were first asked to do this, they thought it was a bit of a laugh. now they're in the guinness book of world records. they have an official average age of 94, making this a new guinness world record. congratulations. few of us, at any age, get to have an attempt at world records, let alone at 90 and more. so it really is quite something. we got there eventually. i think we did not too bad. and you are now a guinness world record holder. pardon? you are now a guinness world record holder. yeah, it's wonderful. phil mackie, bbc news, stratford—upon—avon. time for a look at the weather. here's elizabeth rizzini. and if you want to continue watching the bbc news at 10pm, please turn over to bbc one, or you can watch on iplayer. next, it's newsnight.

the comeback kid. peter mandelson is to be our man in washington. can he do deals with the donald or will he be fired? the crime that shocked the world was committed against gisele pelicot.