defended her visit trip but has defended her visit to the country saying it squarely in the national interest to deliver growth and that agreements reached in beijing would be worth £600 million to the uk over the next five years. the chancellor has also come under fire from some quarters for her recent budget measures and critics say it has led to the pound being lower and government borrowing costs rising.

the issue at the moment is really a threat to national security. it's long been known that mobile phones have been taken in and the quantity of drugs but now there is evidence of drugs but now there is evidence of zombie knives going on, and charlie taylor is saying this is happening so regularly he's worried that guns could be getting in as well and in particular he was looking at two of the most dangerous jails in the country, hmp long—martinez worcestershire and that holds the most dangerous criminals including terrorists, murderers and organised crime bosses. and these are bypassing any security measures that cctv has, thatis security measures that cctv has, that is broken and netting is in place but that has been broken down as well, but the drones are being guided in using gps apps on phones that have been smuggled in by the prisoners themselves, up to the cell windows where the contraband is taken in order dropped into the prison yard and disguised in grass

balls or as plastic bags that can be picked up. this is such a big risk at the moment. that prison authorities are ceding the air space over the trails leading to the potentials of a nonviolent escape and if guns are involved and nice, hostage taking as well. what did he think could be done to resolve the issue? ., , , issue? the government says they inherited prison _ issue? the government says they inherited prison is _ issue? the government says they inherited prison is in _ issue? the government says they inherited prison is in crisis - issue? the government says they inherited prison is in crisis and i inherited prison is in crisis and it's gripping the situation by investing in prison maintenance and security. more has to be done to stop the drones getting anywhere near. and netting is one of the options being used and it's been put up options being used and it's been put up at great expense and there were cases where the prisons broke the windows that had been put in and

some of these cost £5,000 per time, and it will take a long time to get replaced and it seems to be in place at the moment and the criminals are finding a way round it. it is these drones that are getting notjust above prisons and dropping contraband in that are going up to cell windows. and it seemed very sophisticated as in operation. we can look at the live pictures coming in from the house of commons. and we reminded the audience we were waiting. 0urjob —— robertjenrick is on the national security implications of drivers delivering web —— weapons to prisons. what might we hearfrom web —— weapons to prisons. what might we hear from the shadow justice minister? this might we hear from the shadow justice minister?— justice minister? this will be a chance for— justice minister? this will be a chance for robert _ justice minister? this will be a chance for robert jenrick - justice minister? this will be a chance for robert jenrick to i justice minister? this will be a. chance for robert jenrick to see chance for robertjenrick to see that it's critical that the government has not done enough bearing in mind that only been in

government sincejuly. and the secretary of state forjustice has said they inherited prisons in crisis but this is politics and robertjenrick will make the most of the opportunity and the news that has been uncovered by the bbc about the extent of the drones getting into prisons, and charlie taylor, the chief inspector calling it a national security threat. and our correspondent and there is growing loads of people trying to get contraband into prisons. and there are social media videos on tiktok flying over strangeways prison fly right up to the cell windows and

using sticks on their arms. and demand that is around a weight of 1.3 kilos so drugs getting into prisons this way. and mobile phones and knives and the concern from charlie taylor that guns are getting in, but these drones are sophisticated, and as we saw in dominic's report, gps apps are being used by prisoners themselves to send coordinates to guide the drones to their cell window so this is not just a tinpot operation, it's a sophisticated operation by criminal gangs to get contraband into uk prisons and into the hands of dangerous criminals. that prisons and into the hands of dangerous criminals.- prisons and into the hands of dangerous criminals. that is our correspondent _ dangerous criminals. that is our correspondent who _ dangerous criminals. that is our correspondent who will - dangerous criminals. that is our correspondent who will be - dangerous criminals. that is our- correspondent who will be following developments in the house of commons and we are waiting for the urgent question from robertjenrick, but we are waiting for a statement from the

chancellor, rachel reeves, at a time when there are questions about government borrowing costs as well as the value of the pound and she will be talking about her recent trip to china, but also taking questions from mps, and we will be following that as well and we will bring you that here on bbc news. let's look at the latest phase of the covert inquiry with a focus on treatment and the vaccine roll—out. the review will also consider the support and compensation offered to anyone who in rare cases were harmed or injured as a result of vaccination. jim reid has more. just going to be squeezing your arm, 0k? it's now more than four years since margaret keenan from coventry became the first person in the world to get her covid jab as part of a mass rollout. applause. those vaccinations are now thought to have saved hundreds of thousands of lives across the uk.

the fact that we were able to get a usable vaccine in the autumn of that same year, deploy it within the next three months, get it out to all the vulnerable people, pretty much get their first doses out by february was something that had never, ever been achieved in human history. at its peak, almost a millionjabs were given in a single day — at gp surgeries, sports grounds and even cathedrals. now the uk covid inquiry is opening three weeks of hearings into vaccines and the drugs used to treat covid. that includes the way those jabs were developed in the pandemic, the speed of the rollout to different groups, vaccine safety and regulation, and the compensation scheme for people who, in rare cases, were harmed by the jabs. jamie scott was left with brain damage after a blood clot caused by the astrazeneca vaccine. his wife, kate, is among those campaigning for reform and will be giving evidence tomorrow. we're probably a little bit

uncertain whether the hard questions will be asked to the government and to the pharmaceutical companies, because we are not anti—vaccination, we are pro fairness. everyone in our group took the vaccine, but when it goes wrong, surely there's an ethical responsibility to ensure that they don't continue to suffer. barely a scratch. later this week, we'll hear from england's former health secretary matt hancock, and other senior officials from the time. the idea is to learn from one of the biggest public health drives in history, and be better prepared for the next outbreak or pandemic in the future. jim reed, bbc news. pa rents of parents of children with severe epilepsy are breaking the law to give them cannabis medicine as they struggle to have the drug prescribed on the nhs. we have spoken to families getting oils on the black market as well as those who

illegally smuggle the drugs into the uk. is that funny? is everything funny? lunchtime, and this is ten—year—old annie's favourite meal. she loves food. she's quite highly motivated by food. annie has a rare form of epilepsy. we've changed their names to protect their identity. it's harrowing, it's tiring. it's exhausting, it's scary. it's the scariest thing ever — seeing your child seize. the only drug that her parents say helps is an oil made from the cannabis plant. but there's a catch. the medicine mumjane gives her daughter is illegal. i don't want to be breaking the law, but currently i probably would say i don't actually care that i'm breaking the law.

because of the change you see in your daughter? she's happier. but, most importantly, she's having a dramatically reduced amount of seizures. in london, 14—year—old jasper also takes cannabis oil to control his epilepsy. he's gone from having hundreds of seizures to almost none. but his supply is legal and privately prescribed. it costs the family £30,000 a year. i work literally seven days a week to pay for it. we are just aware that we are incredibly lucky, firstly, to have been able to secure a prescription because it's very difficult to do, and secondly, to be able to afford it. mum alice is the author of a new report by a charity that campaigns on this issue. for the first time, it has tried to quantify how many parents resort to illegal cannabis oils on the black market. we used a kind of established methodology for identifying the number of families who are kind of based in the uk. and we identified well over 300, actually nearly 400 families. so to know that there are that many parents willing to do that is obviously very shocking.

if you're, as a parent, faced with a choice between your child dying or trying something illegal, at the end of the day, there's no law that's going to stop you from trying that if you think it might work for your child. access to these particular types of oils is very difficult. we've tracked down one of those suppliers, who has agreed to talk to us anonymously. he runs a legal cbd company and offers illegal oils on the side. he says he does it for free orfor a small donation. thanks for agreeing to talk to us. no worries. thank you for giving me the time to talk. we call it a compassion programme. we have a very core belief that people shouldn't — especially children — shouldn't pay to have a decent quality of existence, quality of life. i think it comes down to a moral obligation. we see our moral obligation towards people who come to us as something that supersedes any legislation, monetary value or anything like that. what gives you the confidence that you're not harming people with the oils that you're producing? because we have access and we have complete control of everything from seed to bottle. so we know what we're doing, we know what we're putting in, and we have the ability to test, manufacture and produce to specific

specifications. medical cannabis was legalised in 2018. since then, the plant's full extract oils haven't been licensed and fewer than five patients have been given it on the nhs. it can be prescribed privately but it's costly. the bbc�*s file on 4 investigates has spoken to several families, who say they have been left with no choice but to turn to illegal suppliers. in a statement, the department of health and social care said... is that funny? with no clear direction on when or if these medicines will become available, parents like jane say they're in an impossible situation.

it makes me really, really angry that for my daughter to be this happy, healthy and well, i've got to break the law. what's your worst fear? that somebody finds out, i get arrested, my husband loses his job and annie doesn't receive the oil, and she goes back to square one. alastair fee, bbc news. and you can listen to the full story on �*file on 4 investigates', on radio 4 tonight at 8pm and on bbc sounds now. the bbc has been told of safety failings on board an egyptian dive boat that sank in november, killing eleven people. authorities blamed the disaster on a "massive wave", but one leading expert has questioned the theory. 0ur correspondent, joe inwood reports. it is almost unimaginable.

35 hours trapped here, in a boat that is slowly sinking. for lucianna, it has taken a terrible toll. i was ready to die. and for me, to be honest, it's very weird to be alive compared to the others. she was one of the last people to be rescued from the sea story, a dive boat that sank in egypt's red sea. we've interviewed nearly a dozen survivors who, for the first time, have spoken of the terror of that night. we remember looking at the boat, and the boat kept sinking, and we just screamed, "swim away from the boat!" on november the 24th, the sea story set off from port ghalib, heading south for sataya, a popular dive spot. this video was recorded just hours before the disaster, after one of the small boats slipped off the back and had to be recovered.

we are taking you back to the house of commons as the shadowjustice minister robertjenrick has asked his question about drones being used to enter prisons and the government is now answering. we to enter prisons and the government is now answering.— is now answering. we will be delivering — is now answering. we will be delivering cargo _ is now answering. we will be delivering cargo such - is now answering. we will be delivering cargo such as - is now answering. we will be l delivering cargo such as drugs is now answering. we will be - delivering cargo such as drugs and weapons and injanuary delivering cargo such as drugs and weapons and in january 2024, restricted fly zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions supporting the police and prison staff to disrupt illegal drone use. ultimately it is crucial we tackle demand. almost half of people entering prisons have a drug problem so we must get them into the right situation to track the drug misuse which is so often a driver of reoffending. contraband driver of reoffending. contra band supply driver of reoffending. contraband supply and illicit economy drive and violence. self—harm, instability, preventing engaging in rehabilitative activity and we are working to crack down on the levels of violence and drugs in our prison

and the illicit economy that is unfortunately highly profitable. prices for drugs and other commodities are between ten and hundred times, and an a4 sheet of paper laced with drugs can be worth £1000 so we must tackle the organised gangs behind it and that's why we've invested in a dedicated serious and organised crime unit will work with law enforcement agencies to disrupt the sophisticated criminal networks. we will continue to take a multifaceted approach to drones on the disruption that they cause to our prison system. that they cause to our prison s stem. . ~ that they cause to our prison s stem. ., ~ i. that they cause to our prison s stem. . ~' ,, ~ that they cause to our prison s stem. ., ~ ~ .,~ ., system. thank you, mr speaker, and civen this system. thank you, mr speaker, and given this is — system. thank you, mr speaker, and given this is a _ system. thank you, mr speaker, and given this is a question _ system. thank you, mr speaker, and given this is a question of— system. thank you, mr speaker, and given this is a question of national. given this is a question of national security, ifind it astonishing given this is a question of national security, i find it astonishing the lord chancellor can't be bothered to turn up to the house today. yesterday the chief inspector of prisons warned... i yesterday the chief inspector of prisons warned. . .— yesterday the chief inspector of prisons warned... i don't think we need any more. _ prisons warned... i don't think we need any more. yesterday - prisons warned... i don't think we need any more. yesterday the - prisons warned... i don't think we l need any more. yesterday the chief insector need any more. yesterday the chief inspector of— need any more. yesterday the chief inspector of prisons _ need any more. yesterday the chief inspector of prisons warned - need any more. yesterday the chief inspector of prisons warned that - need any more. yesterday the chief| inspector of prisons warned that the police and prison service have, and

i quote, ceded the airspace above two high security prisons to organised crime groups. and the result is that organised crime gangs can deliver drugs, phones and weapons like a zombie knives to inmates with impunity due to the absence of basic security measures like functional cctv, protective netting and window repairs. across two visits in september and october he described a damning picture of thriving illicit economies that jeopardise the safety of dedicated prison staff and in hmp manchester almost four in ten prisoners have tested positive in mandatory drug tests, and in hmp long laughs in the figure was nearly three in ten. these two prisons hold some of the most dangerous men in our country, including murderers and terrorists. and if organised crime gangs can deliver phones and drugs to

inmates's cells, they could be delivering serious weapons and explosives as